Confession
by Dolphinz514
Summary: Dawn is completely head over heels over Paul, who secretly has the same feelings for her. When the two of them get trapped in a cave, their relationship grows to something neither of them would have ever expected.
1. The Hike

**Chapter 1:**

**The Hike**

Dawn was washing up the dishes from this morning, when her roommates, Misty and May walked downstairs into the kitchen. They were still in their pajamas, and their hair was not brushed.

"Good morning," mumbled May, as she stretched before landing on the couch.

"Morning, May," Dawn replied, then looked at Misty, who seemed to be more awake than May. "Morning, Misty."

"Morning," Misty said grumpily. "Sorry if I sound grouchy. It took me a while to get May's lazy butt out of bed!"

"Whatever," May retorted sleepily, as she began to close her eyes on the couch.

"Uh-uh!" yelled Misty, as she grabbed May's fragile arms and yanked on them, causing May to sit up. "You are NOT falling asleep again!"

"Just five more minutes!" May begged, her head dangling lifelessly. "I'm so tired! I was watching a movie all night!"

"Well, that's your fault," Misty argued, getting impatient. "Now get some breakfast, go upstairs to get ready and pack your bags for the hike."

"We're going to Mount Coronet, right?" Dawn asked, as she put the last dish away. "I'm so excited!"

"Yeah, we are," Misty answered, as she watched May go up the stairs in a zombie-like matter. "Oh, and I forgot to mention, the boys are coming with us."

"What?" Dawn questioned, secretly hoping that Misty was joking. "What do you mean as 'the boys'?"

"Well, you know," Misty began slowly, knowing her friend was not going to like who exactly was going on the morning's hike with them. "Ash, Brock, Drew, Barry, Kenny, and Paul..."

"PAUL?" Dawn stared at Misty's aquamarine eyes with her own ocean blue eyes. "You can't be serious! I know Ash is your boyfriend, and I went on a journey with him and Brock through the Sinnoh region, so I don't mind them coming. Drew, I've only met a few times, and he's nice and I know that May has a major crush on him, so again, I don't mind him coming either. Barry and Kenny live in Twinleaf Town as well, and they're like my brothers, so of course, I am excited that they are coming, too. But Paul? I know after the Sinnoh League, him and Ash became friends, but I just can't get over how he used to be!"

"You are so critical!" Misty argued back, not believing what her best friend was telling her. "You know Paul is now a nice and honest guy! Why don't you like to talk to him that much? It seems like you're always finding a reason to avoid him!"

"I honestly don't know," Dawn answered, looking down at the counter she was circling her finger on. "I just, well, it just feels weird...him being Ash's best friend. It's just not like before. I want to like Paul, but for some reason, I can't."

Misty just sat on the couch and continued looking at her friend. "Well, then maybe this hike will help you two become good friends."

"I guess," Dawn replied."We won't find out until the hike."

Dawn was secretly hoping that Misty wouldn't noticed that she was being lied to. Dawn really liked Paul. He was nice, funny, considerate, honest, and very cute. Dawn actually had a crush on Paul, one that has lasted since she first met him near the beginning of her journey. That day Ash and Paul had fallen off the side of a cliff due to Team Rocket's mishaps, and Dawn was actually worried more about Paul being hurt than Ash. She didn't want to admit this to her friends, unsure of how they would react.

_I bet they would make fun of me, _Dawn thought to herself. _They can't know I really like Paul, but I want to tell somebody. I can't even tell my mom!_

May came running back down the stairs, with her small hiking bag full of camping supplies. "Don't forget to pack extra clothes for tomorrow," she reminded Dawn and Misty. "I almost forgot we're spending the night at the campsite!"

"Me too," Dawn added. "I'm gonna go upstairs, change, and pack for the hike."

"Okay," Misty replied. "I'll just wait for the boys to get here."

Dawn walked reluctantly upstairs and down the hallway until she got to her bedroom. Piplup was still asleep on the bed, so Dawn woke him up, then walked over to her backpack and set it on her bed.

She changed into her normal attire: a black tank top with white underneath, a red scarf, a pink mini skirt, black knee-high socks, her pink boots, and her white hat with half of a pink pokeball symbol on it. She grabbed her pajamas, and extra clothes for the next day, and put them in her backpack along with her food and Pokemon supplies.

"Piplup," Dawn started. "Paul's coming with us on the hike today."Dawn sat on her bed beside Piplup. "Misty and May as well as the other boys are going to find out that I like Paul!"

Piplup put his flipper on her cheek, trying to comfort his trainer. "Pip!" He exclaimed, as he put that flipper in the air, making a fist, and the other flipper on his hip.

Dawn looked at Piplup, and laughed. She stood up and made the same position that Piplup was making.

"You're right, Piplup," Dawn replied, more cheerfully than before. "I've just gotta keep on trucking!"

Dawn walked quickly out of her room and halfway down the stairs, stopping when she heard voices that didn't belong to either Misty or May.

_The boys must be here already, _Dawn thought to herself, as she tackled the rest of the stairs. She looked into the kitchen and living room to see Drew, Barry and Kenny sitting on the couch, while Brock stood by the sink with Ash and Paul sitting on the bar stools in the kitchen. Her gaze stopped at Paul, then quickly looked away when his gaze met hers. She walked to the coffee table in front of the couch and placed her backpack beside May's.

"Hey, Dawn," Drew said happily. His emerald eyes slightly covered by his green hair met Dawn's as she looked at him. "Are you ready for the hike?"

"Yup," Dawn replied simply, now walking towards the singular chair near the couch. May had taken her place on a similar chair next to Dawn's, while Misty sat on the counter top next to Ash. "Are you guys ready?"

"Are you kidding me?" Barry shouted as he stood up, pumping one of his fists in the air. His orange eyes gleamed as his spiky blonde hair glistened in the sunlight let through the window above the front door. "I've been ready for this hike for ages! Even Empoleon is excited!"He eventually sat back down on the couch, sinking into the soft yellow cushions.

"I'm excited, too," agreed Kenny. His maroon-red hair fell neatly over his soft black eyes. "Barry wouldn't stop talking about it! Whenever he called me, I just left the phone on my bed and went outside to train for the next contest here in Twinleaf Town."

"What?" Barry asked, now looking at Kenny. "I can't believe you did that! That's so mean." With a huff, Barry looked towards the wall across the room and folded his arms and legs, attempting to pout and give Kenny the 'silent treatment.'

Dawn laughed as her two friends that were like older brothers to her were fighting so ridiculously. Her laughing was interrupted when Ash began asking Dawn a question.

"Dawn," Ash began, still holding Misty's hand. His spiky black hair was kept somewhat neatly under his hat. His chocolate-brown eyes searching her for an answer for whatever question he had for her. "Are you excited? You seem a little distant today."

Dawn stared at Ash in surprise. "Of course I'm excited," she finally admitted, even though she was partially lying. "In fact, I'm very excited!"Trying to reassure one of her best friends was harder than she thought. Ash continued to look at her for what it seemed like an eternity, then finally looked at Paul, who began talking.

"This is going to be an interesting hike on Mount Coronet," Paul added, his onyx-black eyes piercing into the ocean blue eyes of Dawn. "I heard once you get about a mile away from the top, there are few caves that lead down to steep tunnels. They're the home to many different Pokemon. It seems quite interesting. We should go and see them on our way up."

"Sounds like a plan,"Brock replied, holding a thumb up towards Paul. "How about we leave now."

"Alright!"May shouted excitedly. "Let's go!"

Dawn sighed to herself, then grabbed her backpack and headed towards the door, quickly stealing a glance at Paul, who stood up, and began looking back into her eyes. They continued to stare into each others' eyes as if they were each searching for some answer from the other. The eye contact broke away when Dawn looked towards the door instead.

_Why do I like him so much? _Dawn thought to herself, opening the door and leading the way to the cars. She stopped suddenly, and glanced back at Paul once more. _But I still wonder...does he feel the same way?_


	2. The Start of Something New

**Chapter 2:**

**The Start of Something New**

Dawn reached for the door handle, and opened the door for the others who were going to take their place in the back of Reggie's van. Reggie was around the age of twenty-four, had long purple hair that was pulled back into a messy ponytail, but still had the effect of being attractive. Underneath his bangs, he has dark black eyes, matching Paul's, but it makes sense; Reggie is Paul's older brother. Reggie had offered to drive some of the people up to the base of the trail leading to the top of Mount Coronet. Dawn really liked Reggie, since she first met him. She remembered that she wished that Paul was that nice, due to his past of being a callous and heartless trainer who believed becoming friends with your Pokemon would make them distracted and weak. Who knew that one battle in the Sinnoh League between him and Ash, with Ash winning, would change his whole personality.

After Drew, May and Kenny had climbed in the back of the van, Dawn stepped into the van and took her place on the middle seat behind the passenger seat. Paul sat in the seat next to her, behind the driver's seat, and Brock took the passenger seat. Reggie soon followed to his respectful place in the driver's seat and started the van.

_Misty and Barry must have gone with Ash in his car, _Dawn thought, realizing that those three weren't in the van.

"Are we all ready?" Reggie asked, looking back at all of his passengers.

A mumble of 'yes' came from the other members in the car. Reggie smiled, turned back around and began to back his van out of the driveway.

"The drive will be about three hours from here," Reggie stated, looking back at the younger kids through the rear view mirror. "Feel free to sleep if you need to."With that, both Ash's car as well as Reggie's van had pulled out of the road that was marked as the entrance to Twinleaf Town.

Dawn looked at Paul who was observing the scenery through the window next to him. She noticed how his onyx eyes seemed to catch every detail, not missing anything that he felt was important. Dawn continued gazing into Paul's eyes when he turned around and noticed he was being observed himself. Dawn blinked and blushed until she was nearly beat red, then turned around and began looking out her own window. Paul just smiled and looked back at the scenery.

_He saw me looking at him! _Dawn thought, her fear growing by the second. _What will he think? Will he think that I like him, or will he think that I hate him? _She brought her soft fingertips to the corner of her mouth, as she continued to think. _I'll never know if I don't talk to him. All I have to do is talk to him..._

Dawn turned back around and looked at Paul and took a deep breath. As she was about to open her mouth to speak, Paul began to ask her a question.

"Hey Dawn," Paul began to say, now looking at Dawn. "What was the first Pokemon you ever caught? Pokemon you received from Professor Rowan, any other professor, or from an egg don't count."

_All I have to do is talk to him..._

"Well, let's see," Dawn began to answer, her blue eyes now fixed on the ceiling of the van, hoping she become more comfortable talking to him the longer their conversation goes. "I began my journey when I was ten, so that was six years ago. My first Pokemon that I caught in the wild was Buneary." She looked at Paul once more and began to speak again. "What was your first Pokemon you caught?"

"That's a good question," Paul replied, unsure of his answer. "It was either Electavire, when it was an Elekid of course, or Marill, who is now an Azumarill and is with a new trainer. I feel bad now that I gave it away after it fainted in a battle again Roark."Paul's eyes began to drift downwards until they met the floor, remembering the day he gave Azumarill away with total ease. Ash has said that Azumarill simply wanted to be Paul's friend, but never received the chance.

"It's okay Paul," Dawn said to him, placing her left hand on his right shoulder, trying to ease his sadness. "I'm sure Azumarill still remembers you, and who knows, maybe you'll see it again."

Paul looked up at Dawn and smiled. "You may be right, Dawn. Thanks," he finally said. Their eyes seemed to have a staring contest the longer their eyes stayed in contact. Their silence was finally broken when May asked a question behind them.

"Reggie," May hollered, sitting up placing her elbows and forearms on the back of the seats of Dawn and Paul. "Are we there yet?"

Reggie laughed upon hearing May's question. "Well, we're almost to Jubilife City, so we've been driving for almost half an hour. So we've got about two and a half hours left."

"Ugh!" May moaned before slouching back in her seat, folding her arms. "That will take _forever_."

"May," Drew began. "If you sleep on the way there, the time will seem to go by faster."

"I know," May answered. "But I'm not tired!"

"Hey, Reggie?"Kenny began to ask, his hand raised a little as if asking for permission to speak.

_He's always so polite, _Dawn thought, remembering how kind Kenny was back in Kindergarten and still will be in the future.

"Could we stop through Oreburg City's Poke Mart when we pass through? They have some potions there that I want to get, but they don't have them in Jubilife City," Kenny continued.

"We're not stopping through Oreburg City, actually," Reggie replied. "You're thinking of Hyper Potions, right?"

Kenny nodded. "Right."

"They have those in Eterna City, so we can stop there,"Reggie continued. "Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, no problem! I'm not in any rush to get them, I just need to stock up on them before the hike," Kenny answered back.

"But Reggie, wouldn't it be quicker to get to Mount Coronet to go through Oreburg City?"Drew asked, his green eyes filled with confusion.

"Yes it would be, Drew, but the base of that trail on Mount Coronet near Oreburg City only takes you up to Hearthome City. The trail up near Eterna takes you to the top of the mountain, so that's why we are heading through there instead," Reggie replied.

"That makes sense," Dawn said, now understanding Reggie's thoughts behind not going through Oreburg City.

"Reggie, are you going to go home after you drop us off?" Paul asked, his hand now on the back of Reggie's seat.

"Not right away," Reggie said, glancing at Paul now and then through his rear view mirror. "I am going to get a Cherubi and a Cyndaquil from an old lady in Celestic Town. I've been asked to watch them for the next couple weeks while their trainer goes on vacation to Snowpoint City. I'll be stopping there before heading home, why?"

"I was wondering if you could watch Weavile for me," Paul stated. "In case I see a Pokemon up there that I want to catch, I want to make sure I have room."

"Sure, Paul, not a problem," replied Reggie, taking Weavile's Pokeball from Paul.

"You're lucky your brother is a breeder," Dawn said to Paul, attempting to start up a conversation with him again. _I can't believe our first conversation went so well! I wonder if our next will go the same, _Dawn thought. "I'm sure it has tons of advantages."

"It has disadvantages, too," Paul replied. "You don't get to train your Pokemon for that time, so you miss out on some new things, but that's really the only disadvantage."

"Ah," Dawn replied. "I see what your saying."

"Another disadvantage might be that the Pokemon may also have a slight change in personality when the trainer gets back to receive their Pokemon," Brock started, now looking at Paul and Dawn. "When that happens, the trainer might feel a little awkward when meeting with their Pokemon again, not knowing the new things that Pokemon might like or dislike. That's another disadvantage that I can think of."

"You are right, Brock," Reggie agreed. "I forgot about that factor."

Brock nodded then looked back out of the windshield, watching the Pelipper and Wingull flying overhead.

"So it _is _going to take forever?" May again prodded, obviously losing her patience of being in a van for a long period of time.

"Yes!" everyone said back, also impatient due to the lack of May's patience. May folded her arms and slouched in her seat once again, pouting due to the driving not exactly going the way she thought it was going to go.

Dawn turned back around and continued her conversation with Paul, who seemed just as interested in their conversation as Dawn was.

"So how old were you when you started your journey?" Dawn asked Paul. She knew that he had already traveled through all of the other regions before embarking on a journey in Sinnoh.

"I went with Reggie on his journeys through the other regions, but I came back here and began my journey in my home region when I was almost eleven. I was eight when I went with Reggie on his journeys," Paul answered, smiling back at Dawn. He also was enjoying their conversations.

_I wonder if he likes me, _Dawn thought to herself once more, still not confident if Paul liked her as much as she liked him. The two of them continued their conversation even though everyone else in the van, except for Reggie, had fallen asleep. They kept smiling at each other and really began to get to know the other person. Dawn felt that Paul was going to be a really good friend to her, no matter which way their relationship takes off. Eventually, Paul had also fallen asleep, due to the long drive to her apartment this morning from his house in Veilstone City. Suddenly feeling exhausted herself, Dawn leaned her head against the window to her right, and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to take over her.

_I'll just have to wait and find out._


	3. Trapped in Emotions

**A/N: Here is chapter 3! :D Sorry it took a while to write, I was working on a different chapter for my other story. XD Anyways, hope you like it! ^-^ **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon! **

**Enjoy!  
>~Dolphinz514 3<strong>

**Chapter 3:**

"Dawn," a voice called, as a hand shook Dawn's shoulder, waking her up. "We're here."

Dawn opened her eyes and looked over her left shoulder to see Paul's black eyes gazing into her blue. "I'm coming," Dawn mumbled between yawns, as she rubbed her eyes and stretched her arms.

"We're all already outside, so just come out when you're ready," Paul answered back, before turning around and exiting Reggie's van. Dawn sat up and opened her own door, and stepped outside before closing it again, her backpack in her hand. She walked towards her group of friends, who were already gathered around a picnic bench near the base of the trail.

"Morning, Dee Dee!" Kenny called from the bench, waving at Dawn, who sleepily waved back. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did," Dawn answered, before casting a teasing look at Paul, who was looking at her. "But not long enough."

At her teasing comment, Paul laughed, as he stood up to give Dawn his seat on the bench.

"Thanks," Dawn mumbled as she sat down. She quietly picked a Pecha berry and a Kelpsy berry, handing the Kelpsy to Paul.

"Thanks, Dawn," Paul said, looking at Dawn before stuffing his mouth with a bite of a Kelpsy berry, his eyes wandering to the trees around him. Dawn quickly turned around and covered her cheeks to hide the fact that she was blushing feverishly.

_Even when he eats he's adorable! _Dawn thought to herself. _Is everything he does so cute? I don't know how much longer I can handle it!_

"Alright you guys,"Brock started. "Let's head up now before it starts to get dark. Let's try to get up at least half of the way so we can set up camp before nightfall."

"Let's go!" Barry yelled enthusiastically as he jumped off of the picnic table and grabbed backpack.

"Sometimes I think he gets a little _too _excited," Kenny mumble to Dawn, who let out a small giggle in response.

"What was that?" Barry asked, looking at Kenny.

"Nothing!" Kenny and Dawn cried out in unison as they both stood up and grabbed their backpacks.

Brock headed up towards the base of the trail and began climbing, with Ash, Misty and Drew following closely behind. May grabbed her backpack, and walked with Barry and Kenny towards the trail to start hiking. Dawn started up the path after Kenny with Paul bringing up the end of the group.

A few hours later, the group was still making their way up to the first campsite. Dawn looked up at the sun's position, and estimated it was around four-o-clock in the afternoon. _We probably still have about two hours to go, _Dawn thought as she looked back ahead of her and continued up the trail. She casually glanced back to see Paul watching Piplup climb up the rocks, an amused emotion gracing his face when Piplup couldn't reach the next step. Picking up Piplup, Paul then looked straight again, noticing Dawn watching him, and smiled at her.

Blushing ferociously, Dawn turned back around, panicking a little from Paul's charming reaction to her staring at him. _He's even so sweet with Pokemon... unlike how he used to be, _Dawn thought as she hiked up the path, which was now growing more rocky and steep. _I still can't believe the drastic change from his old personality to..._Dawn looked back at Paul once more, who now had Piplup on his head. _...to this..._

Lost in thought, Dawn slipped on a rock that was a little too high, and stumbled backwards.Unable to catch herself, she continued falling, only to be surprised when he suddenly stopped. Turning her head around, she noticed her face was now merely inches away from Paul's. Dawn blushed, worse than before, when she realized that Paul's hands were on her waist, which is what stopped her from hitting the rough ground. Her heartbeat increasing each second the longer she leaned against Paul.

After a few seconds, Paul blushed in return, realizing he was still supporting her, and released her waist, and let go of her hands once she was stable again. "Are you okay?" he asked, a concerned appearance on his handsome face.

"Y-y-yeah," Dawn stuttered out, her hands close to her chest. She was shaking uncontrollably, her face still beat red. "I'm fine."

"Glad to hear it," Paul returned, smiling sweetly at her, only causing her face to turn to a shade of a deeper red. He looked ahead of Dawn to see the rest of the group was nowhere in sight. "We probably should start going up again," he suggested as his attention was again on Dawn.

"Yeah! You're probably right...let's go," Dawn replied, turning around and hiking back up the mountain. _W-what...what just happened? _Dawn asked herself, still in a bit of a dazed state from the previous actions. _I'm sure he noticed me blushing! Ugh, that's so embarrassing! ...But it's not all my fault! His hands were on my waist! _She thought defiantly. _I wonder...if he felt a little weird too..._

_ Man...that was close, _Paul thought as he watched Dawn hike up the trail. _I hope she didn't noticed me blushing...however, I did see her blush. _He looked at the sky for a moment before looking back at the trail, knowing there would be no one behind him to catch him if he falls. _...It was kinda cute... _Paul thought to himself, smiling slightly. A sudden thought hit him, making his smile go away. _Did...did I just call her cute? That's odd...I've never thought of her as "cute" before. Hmm...weird. _He looked back up at Dawn as he continued to think. _Am I 'cute' to her?_

Finally Dawn and Paul reached the first campsite to see that everyone was already setting up tents and cooking dinner. Upon hearing their approach, Misty looked up as well as Kenny, had a slight meltdown.

"Where were you, Dawn?" Kenny asked, rushing to Dawn, ignoring the fact that Paul was right beside her. "Did you get hurt? Fall down the trail? Sprain you ankle? Roll off the side of the mountain? Get trapped by a wild poke-"

"Kenny!" Dawn loudly interrupted, her hands in the air motioning for Kenny to stop. "I'm fine! Nothing of the sort happened. I just tripped a little and almost fell, that's all."

"Wait, what do you mean by 'almost fell?'" Kenny questioned, a puzzled look grazing across his face.

"Well..I tripped and Paul caught me before I fell..." Dawn cautiously answered. Paul, who still had Piplup on his head, then slightly smiled to ease any possible tension between him and Kenny.

"Oh...I see..." Kenny answered tensely, glancing at Paul before looking at Dawn again. _I can't believe he's carrying Piplup! This guy should watch himself..._"Well, dinner's almost ready, so when you're ready to eat go ahead and dig in!" With that, Kenny awkwardly walked towards the tent that he was sharing with Drew and Barry.

"I feel kinda bad," Dawn said softly to herself.

"What was that?" Paul asked, looking at Dawn with slight confusion.

"Oh, nothing!" Dawn answered innocently. _I know Kenny likes me...and yet I like Paul. How can I not feel the least bit guilty? _She thought to herself as she walked towards the pot hovering above the stove, Paul a little ways behind her. Brock was making a stew that had a smell which filled the whole kitchen. Seeing this movement out of the corner of his eye, Brock looked up to see Dawn and Paul walking towards him, noticing they both looked very tense and awkward.

"You guys okay? It took you two long enough to finally catch up to us," Brock stated, looking at them.

"Yeah, we're fine," Paul answered, gazing into the fire, the dance of the hot flames reflecting off of his onyx eyes.

"Yeah," Dawn answered with the same response. "We're just tired, and a little confused."

"Why?" Brock asked.

Dawn looked up at Brock, with Kenny on her mind. _What am I supposed to say? He knows Kenny likes me, and even tried to help him talk to me a couple times, and I don't know what to say? Ugh...just to think I wasn't expecting much drama this trip. _"You know Brock," she finally said after staring at Brock for sometime. "I honestly don't know."

**A/N: HOLA! :) I know it's a little bit of a weird way to end a chapter...but just roll with it! ;D Sorry this chapter took me FOREVER and EVER and EVER to write...but I was in a MAJOR writer's block and today, something FINALLY HIT ME! :D So hands off and a bunch of enthusiastic 'YAYS' to random epiphanies! **

**Well..hope you enjoyed the chapter...OH and by the way...Kenny liking Dawn IS a spoiler. Yeah...it's mentioned MANY times in the anime that Kenny likes Dawn...unless the viewers are just too naive to even notice... LOL. :) JKZ.**

**Please review! Let me know what your fangirl minds are thinking! :D**

**3**

**~Dolphinz514**


	4. Mission: Dawn and Paul Falling in Love?

_A/N: Hey! What's up? Haha. I know I haven't updated this story in like...three weeks...and this story gets WAY more reviews and views than my other story...hehehe...so I thought I should update! :D Warning: I wrote this in about 1 and a half hours around 10:30 pm...so it might not be the best chapter ever. It's just kind of a filler chapter. I had Freyja review/edit this for me...and there was like six things I needed to fix! (Thanks, Freyja! :D) Most sentences didn't make sense...but that's what I get for staying up until 11:30 writing a chapter for fanfiction when I should be in bed! ;D Haha. Now this chapter is making sense!...(hopefully!) XD The first half(ish) of this chapter is with Dawn and the girls, then it switches to Paul and the boys. :) ...But it's obvious...I guess I didn't have to tell you then...well I did anyways, so deal with it! XD Haha._

_I had a fun writing this chapter! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do! :D_

_~Dolphinz514_

_*Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon! ...If I did...well...you would know! ;) All characters/materials borrowed/used belong to their respective owners._

_Enjoy~!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4:<strong>

**Mission: Dawn and Paul Falling In Love?**

Dawn let out a helpless sigh as she entered the tent the girls were sharing. Her entrance earned the attention of the other girls, who smiled to see that she was alright.

"What took you so long, Dawn?" Misty asked, who was brushing her short, spiky, red hair. "We were wondering what happened to you two."

"I know," Dawn replied as she placed Piplup on May's pillow. She grabbed her sleeping bag out of her backpack and unrolled it between May's sleeping bag and the tent's wall. She grabbed her light blue pillow next and laid it at the opening of her sleeping bag. "I know we got behind, but we're here now."

"What happened to cause you two to get so far behind?" May interrogated, her ocean blue eyes attempting to read Dawn's thoughts.

"It's a long story," Dawn said slowly, slightly blushing as she replayed earlier's events in her head. She reached for her pajamas from her bag, and started to change out of her daily clothes.

"Well, we have all night!" May said cheerfully, obviously hinting that she wanted to hear Dawn's story.

"Wait, why are you blushing, Dawn?" Misty observed, causing Dawn to blush even more vigorously than before. "Did something _special _happen between you and Paul?"

"...No...not exactly," Dawn answered as she pulled her silky pajama top over her head. "Well...I wouldn't call it '_special_' though..."

"Wait! Did he tell you he likes you?" May questioned, her voice louder than it probably should be to avoid any eavesdroppers.

"What? No. Why would you ask that?" Dawn asked as she sat down on her sleeping bag.

"Because he does like you, Dawn," Misty replied bluntly. "It's so obvious, not even Ash could miss it."

"Oh," Dawn said quietly, bringing her feminine hand up to her chin and pondering the possibility of Paul actually liking her or not.

"So..what _did _happen today? It was obviously something that made you like him even more! I can tell because you're blushing feverishly!" Misty stated.

_Dang, _Dawn thought. _Misty's more observant than I thought! Maybe it's from her experience of dating Ash...they have been dating for nearly two years now. _

"Will you please tell us?" May begged sweetly, leaning in towards Dawn and clasping her hands together as if she was praying.

"And you better not leave out any details," Misty warned, winking an eye and raising on finger.

Dawn sighed and closed her eyes, knowing she wasn't going to be able to get out of this. She opened her eyes again and looked at Misty as she began to tell her story. "Paul was behind me when we started hiking up the hill. After about a mile of hiking, I began to think of Paul and how cute he was when he was carrying Piplup on his head...and I just lost my focus. I misplaced my foot on a rock and I slipped backwards."

"Ooh..this is getting good!" May cheered, squeezing her eyes shut and holding both of her hands to her cheeks.

"What happened next?" Misty inquired, placing her hands on her knees as she leaned forward towards Dawn. "Don't leave me waiting, girl!"

Dawn suppressed a small giggle before continuing her story. "I wasn't able to grab on to anything before I fell, so I shut my eyes tight as waited to hit the ground...but I didn't!"

May blinked obliviously as she was trying to see what Dawn was getting at. Misty raised an eyebrow suspiciously and smirked, obviously knowing what could happen next.

"I didn't hit the ground because Paul caught me! He quickly stepped up behind me and caught me! I was so surprised, I almost passed out right then and there!"Dawn exclaimed as she squirmed excitedly. "His hands were around my waist, and I couldn't help but blush a little, and I looked back and saw that he was blushing too! It was so cute! He asked me if I was okay, and I almost didn't answer! I was too caught up in the moment! After I answered and told him that I was okay, he realized he still had hold of my waist and let go after he made sure I had a good balance! He's so sweet! I had to make sure I had my full attention on the trail from that point on!"

"SQUEE!" Misty yelled as she stood up and pumped a fist in the air. "I feel romance in the air! This is so exciting! Dawn is falling in love!"

"Lucky!" May pouted as she folded her arms across her chest. "I wish I could have a moment like that with Drew! But it seems that whenever a moment like that is close, fate decides to hate me and snatch it away as fast as a Staraptor snatches away a Ratata for dinner."

Misty and Dawn laughed hysterically at May's observation of her unluckiness with getting closer to Drew. Misty sat back down and looked at Dawn with another wink.

"That's phase one of Mission Dawn and Paul Falling in Love!" Misty said excitedly.

"'Mission Dawn and Paul Falling in Love?'" Dawn repeated as she looked at Misty with overflowing curiosity. "What is that?"

"It's my plan of getting you two to hit it off!" Misty answered confidently, now that 'phase one' has fully kicked in. "May and Barry are in on it, too."

Dawn placed a palm across her face as she shook her head at her friends' brave decision. "You guys are crazy."

"Crazy, yes," Misty agreed, nodding her head. "But we're smart, too! This plan is going to work."

"It better! I spent a good amount of training time for planning this with you and Barry!" May informed Misty, pointing a finger to the top of the tent. "If this doesn't work out, I'll be ticked! Ticked, I tell you!"

Misty simply laughed in replacement of a response to May's demand. Dawn laughed too as she turned around to grab her ruby red poketch to see what time it was.

"Oh my gosh you guys," Dawn started as she turned back around to her friends. "It's nearly midnight! I don't know about you two, but I'm going to bed." She slipped under the top layer of her sleeping bag before she sunk down into her pillow.

"I'm exhausted!" May stated, fighting back a yawn. She stretched her arms and back before she also crawled into her sleeping bag.

Misty laid in her sleeping bag and propped herself by her elbows on her pink pillow. "I wonder how Paul felt about that moment," she asked openly before plopping her head on her soft pillow.

"Who knows what they talk about," May answered unknowingly of boys and their conversation topics. "I doubt Paul will say anything about that to the boys."

"I don't know," Dawn disagreed, turning around to look at May. "He just might, but I'm not sure if he will or not."

"I honestly don't care right now," Misty declared as she sat up in her sleeping bag. "All I care about is me and sleeping."

Dawn smiled to herself and shut her eyes after Misty turned off the lamp in the tent. _All I can think about is how cute Paul is! _She thought, suddenly feeling more giddy than tired. _I really hope he talks about me to the boys...I just really hope he likes me! _She turned so she was laying on her back, and allowed herself to clear her mind. _I really do..._Dawn thought before trailing off into a deep sleep.

* * *

><p>"Then I caught her around the waist, and I completely lost all of my focus!" Paul explained as his cheeks began to wear a bright shade of flushed red. Barry, Ash, Brock and Drew had all gathered around Paul as he told his story of how he caught Dawn from falling on the hike. Kenny was sitting a little ways away from the group gazing off to the floor of the tent, becoming upset with what he was hearing.<p>

_I was afraid of this, _Kenny thought as he glanced at Paul with a slight amount of hatred. _I knew that he liked Dawn...I knew it! I should've seen this coming earlier...I have to stop it before it gets any farther._

"You totally like her, dude!" Ash responded as he placed on of his hands on Paul's shoulders. "I knew you did!"

"I can't help it," Paul admitted as he looked down at his hands. "She's just so...so...cute."

"She is pretty," Brock agreed, casting a glance at Kenny, who was still glaring at Paul. Seeing this, Brock gently tapped Kenny's arm to snap him out of his trance of strong dislike.

"You okay?" Brock whispered so the other boys wouldn't hear it.

"Yeah," Kenny grumbled staring at the tent's floor. "Dandy."

Brock sighed in sympathy for his friend. He wasn't sure who's side he should be on here. He was delighted for Paul because he liked Dawn and that she likes him in return, but he also felt awful for Kenny because he was in love with her, but she only viewed him as a friend. More of a brotherly figure, in fact.

"Whoa, guys, it's almost twelve-thirty in the morning!" Barry informed as he put his orange poketch down. "I'm hitting the sack!"

"I'm with ya there!" Ash agreed, quickly sliding into his sleeping back. Pikachu jumped up and joined Ash in the sleeping bag and snuggled up to Ash's warm body.

"Good night, everybody," Brock said after everyone in the tent had comfortably settled in their respective sleeping bags. "Sleep well; it's going to be a long day tomorrow."

Brock turned off the lamp and almost instantly everyone was asleep, except for Paul, who was lost deep in thought.

_Why do I like her so much? I couldn't stand her when I first met her, but that was when I was such a cold-hearted, callous trainer back then. She seems like she's willing to get along with me now that I'm pretty friendly and caring, but does she like me? _Paul interrogated himself, as he stared through the darkness at the tent's walls. _Could it be that..._

Paul jumped when Ash had suddenly let out a snore that echoed through the whole tent. He sighed and settled down once again and returned to his previous thoughts.

_...I'm..._

Paul closed his eyes as he waited for Sleep to encase him in its tight grasp. Letting out one more sigh, Paul asked himself one more thing before falling into a well-deserved sleep.

_...in love?_

* * *

><p><em>So...is Paul in love? ONLY YOU CAN DECIDE! JUST KIDDING! XD I'm the author...I DECIDE! Muahahahaha :3<br>Poor Kenny! Will he be able to win Dawn's heart? Or at least tell her how he feels? And how long will Paul be able to hide his feelings for Dawn? A week? A day? A minute? A thousand years? (If he got that old...that would be BOSS!) Haha. And which side will Brock take in the end? How can he support both friends without upsetting the other? Poor Brock...it's always seemed like he gets stuck between arguments... -_-'''  
>Haha. Review your thoughts! :D PLEASE? I will sing a song if I get at least 15 reviews for this chapter before the end of this week. (Not really, but how cool would that be?) x3<em>

_Hope you liked it, and keep checking my channel for updates! :D I plan on updating either the end of this week, or the beginning of next week...but again THAT'S FOR ME TO DECIDE! Haha...I like being in control of the fangirls' impatience for my stories! (That's right, Freyja, I'm talking to you! Haha. I told her I would update my "Forbidden Love" story like...2 weeks ago..and I updated it like...two DAYS ago! XD She kept stalking my page and at school she would be like "UPDATE, WOMAN!" Haha. I luvz yous, Freyja! Haha. Besties rule! OH and P.S., Freyja: MINISKIRT ARMY FTW!)_

_Thanks for reading, reviewing and loving! (I know all of you are staring at the review button thinking "OOH! I'll update!" then you think, "Nah...too much time to type up a three sentence paragraph...troublesome." Haha. If you see it, and are staring at it right now...CLICK IT! CLICK IT LIKE YOU'VE NEVER CLICKED BEFORE!) Haha...BYE~!_

_~Dolphinz514_


	5. Love Hurts

_A/N: YAY! It's finally here! Sorry for the late updates recently, but I just got over a play AND major oral surgery, so as I was home recovering, I was writing this chapter! It's a pretty good chapter, if I do say so myself, and it is setting the stage for future events dealing with Kenny. :) This chapter was extremely fun to write, and I also had fun adding a little comedy throughout the story as well. ;D And Freyja, I added a lot more Brock in this one, just for you! ;D He actually has most of the comical words in the last half of the chapter! ^3^  
>Hope you all laugh as much as I did!<em>

Enjoy!  
>~Dolphinz514<p>

* * *

><p>Chapter 5:<br>Love Hurts

"Can we please take a break?" Barry begged loudly as the group made it's way up the tremendously steep trail.

Brock, who was leading the group this morning, stopped and looked around to check the security of the mountainside where they would take their break. He settled down on a small patch of grass near the middle of the clearing, and let his pack fall loose off of his shoulders and land beside him. Deciding it was safe, he nodded to Barry, who gratefully flung his backpack off his shoulders and collapsed on a small boulder.

Letting out a chuckle from watching Barry's actions excessive exhaustion, Ash sat on the ground and reached in his own backpack for his light blue water bottle. Misty sat down next to Ash, facing a little away from him, however, leaning her back and head on his left shoulder. In response, Ash offered Misty his bottle of water, who gladly accepted and drank the refreshing spring water to quench her thirst.

"Thanks," Misty gasped after removing the bottle from her mouth and passing it back to Ash, who nodded for his reply.

Dawn sat on a rock nearest to the path, and Paul sat down next to her to continue their conversation they had started earlier.

"So that's all there is to a contest? Just show off your Pokemon's abilities?" Paul asked Dawn, trying to grasp the concept of the contests held every once in a while that Dawn enjoys entering.

"But that's not all there is, Paul," Dawn began, pointing a delicate finger towards the sky to help further prove her point. "It's also about helping your Pokemon appear so natural to the judges, almost as if it was simply playing with it's moves in a meadow or a lake, for example."

"So...the trainer isn't really important in contests then?"

"They're important to help the Pokemon look their best. Like my friend Zoey once told me: 'It's the Pokemon who is the star, not the trainer.'"

"So it is almost opposite to a gym battle," Paul decided finally, folding his arms.

"Haha...yeah. I guess you could say that," Dawn giggled.

_That should be me with Dawn, not him, _Kenny thought menacingly to himself. _What does she even see in him? I've known her way longer than he has!_

Dawn laughed loudly at a joke that Paul had told her, who was also smiling brightly. Seeing Dawn being so happy because of Paul made Kenny blush; not with bashfulness, but pure hatred.

"Look at them," Kenny muttered under his breath, only loud enough for him to hear. "It makes me sick."

"What makes you sick, Kenny?" Drew asked, his voice filled with concern.

"You're sick?" May questioned, who was standing by Drew. She leaned forward a little to observe Kenny's face and body posture for any symptoms of any sort of sickness. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not sick, I'm okay," Kenny reassured, placing both of his hands in front of his chest, his palms outwards. "But thanks for your concern."

"Are you sure? You looked a little flushed," Barry commented after noticing the pinkish color decorating Kenny's cheeks.

"I SAID I'M FINE!" Kenny yelled before storming off towards the trail, drawing the attention of everyone in the clearing. As he passed Dawn and Paul, he shot a quick, threatening glare at Paul, who noticed, and continued walking up the trail.

"What was that about?" Paul wondered.

"What?" Dawn questioned, a look of worry in her eyes.

"Oh, nothing. I was just talking to myself," Paul answered quickly, not wanting Dawn to suspect anything. He returned his gaze up the trail which Kenny darted up with great speed, interrogating himself of what started his sudden burst of frustration. _And __why did he glare at me like that? What did I do?_

"Um...I'll go talk to him," Brock announced as he stood up and headed off in the direction that Kenny previously took. A jumble of nervous and confused exchanged glances before previous conversations were continued.

"Kenny!" Brock hollered, his hands cupped around his mouth to carry the sound of his voice further away. "Kenny, where are you?"

Brock had already traveled up the trail about a quarter of a mile, and Kenny still was nowhere to be found. Placing a hand on his hip, and the other hand in his hair, he scratched his head as he contemplated how he would find Kenny. _What in the world was that about? I can only assume it has something to do with Dawn...  
><em>

Brock's attention dashed up the side of the mountain when he heard a small scuffling. Kenny had found himself a seat on a large rock, and had his face buried in his hands. Muttering under his breath of how sore his legs already were, Brock hiked up the mountainside until he reached Kenny. He sat himself down on a rock across from Kenny, who hadn't removed his hands covering his face.

"You wanna tell me what happened back there?" Brock interrogated, starting the soon-to-be-awkward conversation.

"Go away," Kenny responded bluntly, refusing to look up.

"Let me rephrase my question: What happened back there?"Brock asked once more, not letting Kenny get away with the situation so easily.

Kenny finally looked up to meet Brock's questioning gaze. His tear-streaked cheeks were remained red as a few last tears fell down his face to land in his lap below. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Now _that _is a lie," Brock argued, pointing a joking finger at Kenny. "Come on, I know you really want to talk about it, you just don't know how I'll react, right?"

Kenny suppressed a sigh before sitting up straight and wiping his sleeve across his face to dry off any tears. "Alright, I'll tell you."

Brock leaned back a little and folded his arms, intent and ready to listen to whatever Kenny had to say. "I'm listening."

"It's about Dawn," Kenny began.

"I figured," Brock agreed. "I just wanted to hear you say it."

"And about Paul."

"I figured that as well."

"I just...I just can't believe that a guy like him actually _likes _her! And that the probability of Dawn liking him back just ticks me off!" Kenny exploded, his arms flailing about to help release his overwhelming anger.

"Because you like her too, I know, but you can't control the feelings of love, Kenny," Brock stated.

"I know, but I've known Dawn WAY longer than Paul has! Heck, we're from the same town! We went to the same kindergarten! WHO DO YOU THINK GAVE HER THE NAME 'DEE DEE'?" Kenny exclaimed, standing up now, staring at Brock.

"Okay...you _really _like her," Brock speculated. "Before I continue, why don't you just sit down."

"But that's the thing, Brock," Kenny started, sitting down on his respective rock once more. "I don't just like her...I'm in love with her."

"Oh...young love," Brock commented. "Well, I'll tell you this: I'm on both sides here, both you and Paul."

Kenny looked up at Brock with a hint of betrayal in his eyes. _How can he be on both sides?_

"But if you want to win her heart, acting like _that _back there, and giving the stink eye to Paul is _not _going to do it for you," Brock finished, standing up while stretching his arms.

"I see your point," Kenny admitted, somewhat defeated. He stood up as well. "Let's head back to the clearing."

Brock nodded in agreement, and led the way down the mountainside and back towards the opening where everyone else were still resting.

Dawn heard shuffling behind her, and turned around to see Brock and Kenny heading back down towards the trail. "Kenny!" she exclaimed as she stood up and ran towards him, meeting him halfway. "Are you okay? You seemed really upset?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Dawn," Kenny replied, smiling to ease the awkwardness and the tension still lingering in the air. "I'm sorry for the way I acted back there."

"It's okay," Dawn said simply, smiling as well. She grabbed Kenny's wrist, causing Kenny to blush, as she lightly dragged him towards the clearing. "Lunch just finished getting ready! Let's eat!"

"Sounds good," Kenny agreed, laughing slightly. After hearing Kenny's response, Dawn ran back to Paul, and grabbed his hand to help him up. Kenny could hear the faint "Come on, Paul, let's eat!" and "What were you saying?" from Dawn's voice as she walked with Paul towards the cauldron over the fire Brock had started. _And it begins yet again, _Kenny thought regretfully_. Will it ever end?  
><em>

* * *

><p><em>AN: Poor Kenny can't catch a break! So he has now admitted his love FOR Dawn, but will he be able to admit his love TO Dawn? Find out by keep reading! :) I also want to guess and say that some of you are thinking "is this going to turn into a Penguinshipping story (KennyXDawn)?" And my answer is no...no it is not. Kenny liking Dawn is just a complication in the story towards the main plot. :) Muahahaha.  
>Review? Please! Most of you have, so thank you for that! :)<em>

I'll update soon! Thanks for reading, reviewing and loving!  
>~Dolphinz514<p> 


	6. A Battle for Love

_A/N: Hey! :D Sorry it's been a while since I've updated: I was in a MAJOR writer's block...but I got a review on the last chapter from Xxlilytiger556xX and she gave me an idea for Chapter 6...and I LOVE IT! :D SO...I used her idea! :D So, credit for the main plot of this chapter belongs to Xxlilytiger556xX. Thanks! :D I had a LOT of fun writing this chapter! Definitely my favorite chapter so far! :D I hope you all think so as well! _

_Well..that's enough of me rambling...go on and read the chapter! :D_

Enjoy~!

~Dolphinz514

* * *

><p>Chapter 6:<p>

A Battle for Love

"Paul, will you battle with me?" Kenny asked innocently. _It will be a fight for Dawn, even though he doesn't know it. Dawn will see who the real trainer is, and realize that Paul doesn't deserve her love!  
><em>

"Sure, Kenny! I would love to! Bring it on!" Paul accepted, placing a fist in front of his face to emphasize his enthusiasm.

Kenny nodded before turning around and walking towards the opposite side of the campsite. _He won't know what hit him!_

"OOH! A battle! Exciting! I wonder who's gonna win?" May exclaimed excitedly as she rushed to a rock beside Misty, who was also impatient for a good battle.

"This is going to be good!" Drew agreed, sitting on the ground in front of May.

_Maybe this is his way of apologizing, _Dawn figured as she watched the two young men walk away from each other. "Good luck to both of you!"

"Thanks, Dawn!" Paul answered back, turning his head so he can see her face, the angle of his body allowing the sun to glisten off of his ebony eyes. Dawn emotionally melted from the view of the handsome trainer thanking her.

"Yeah, thanks, Dawn!" Kenny hollered from across the field, his hands cupped around his mouth. He lowered them when he noticed Dawn was still in a daze. _She's still staring after Paul, huh? Not for long. _

"Alright, I'll be referee, then," Brock announced as he walked to the side of the battling grounds. "Ash, you want to assist me?"

"Sure!" Ash replied cheerfully, as he stood up from his place next to Misty, Pikachu also wearing a grin on his small, yellow face.

"Okay, are you two boys ready?" Brock asked, raising one of his hands up in the air.

"Ready," Kenny stated, keeping his stern and impatient gaze on Paul. _He better be prepared for what I'm going to throw at him! Dawn will __**have **__to like me after I'm done with him!_

"I'm ready," Paul repeated, glancing at Kenny before looking back towards Brock. _I thought he wasn't mad at me anymore, so why is he staring at me like...a predator? _

"Alright, this is going to be a one on one battle. So, of course, no substitutions allowed. The battle will start and continue until a Pokemon on either side is unable to battle," Brock recited as he watched Paul and Kenny each bring out a Pokeball.

"AND BEGIN!" Brock yelled, throwing his arm downward.

"Breloom, come on out!" Kenny ordered as he threw Breloom's Pokeball high into the air.

"Breloom!" Breloom said, crouching a little and putting it's fins in front of it's face to prepare itself for the Pokemon Paul would choose.

"Weavile, stand by for battle!" Paul said, summoning his Weavile onto the field, so experimentally scratched it's claws in the air as if to warn Breloom it's gonna be a tough fight.

"Who are you going for, Dawn?" Drew asked, tilting his head back to get a glance of Dawn's face.

"I am rooting for both," Dawn simply replied, meeting Drew's emerald gaze.

"Same here," Misty agreed. "It's hard to choose between the two. One trainer is a coordinator, who made it pretty far in the Grand Festival, and the other trainer almost made it to the final round in the Sinnoh League. They're different styles of battling, and the training technique is different, which will make an exciting battle!"

"Nicely put, Misty," May giggled, surprised that Misty could be so observant.

"Thanks," Misty said sarcastically. _I'm not that oblivious!  
><em>

"GOOD LUCK, YOU GUYS!" Barry screamed from the rock next to Dawn, waving both hands in the air.

"Breloom, use Headbutt!" Kenny commanded. Breloom crouched, then suddenly sprinted off towards Weavile with incredible speed.

"Breloom's fast, Weavile, so keep your eyes on it, and dodge it and use Fury Swipes!" Paul said. Weavile waited for the right moment when Breloom was right in front of it to jump up into the air to dodge Breloom's Headbutt.

"Don't let it get away, Breloom!" Kenny exclaimed from across the field. In response, Breloom suddenly stopped, then jumped up to land a painful Headbutt on Weavile's stomach, causing Weavile to fly halfway across the field.

"Weavile! Are you okay?" Paul asked worriedly as he watched Weavile struggle to get up.

"Breloom, use Energy Ball!" Kenny ordered, happy that he had landed a hit on Paul's agile Weavile. Breloom began to absorb sunlight to prepare Energy Ball while Weavile still struggled to stand up.

"Weavile, dodge it!" Paul warned Weavile as a small ball of light began to form in front of Breloom's mouth.

"BREEEELOOOOOM!" Breloom screeched as it flung its fully-charged energy ball.

"Weavile!" Weavile yelled, jumping into the air just before it could get hit with Energy Ball.

"Nice job, Weavile! Now use Icy Wind!" Paul cheered. Weavile sucked in as much air as it could, before blowing it out combined with snow and ice towards Breloom.

"Oh no! Icy Wind is an ice type move!" May exclaimed as she watched Breloom get covered in snow and ice.

"Since Breloom is a grass and fighting type, that move is super effective; Paul made a good choice choosing Weavile," Drew concluded as he also watched the heated battle.

_Good move, Weavile,_ Dawn mentally cheered. _Way to get back up on your feet __after that Headbutt!_

"Breloom! Hang in there!" Kenny begged as Breloom began to dig its way out of the think blanket of snow that covered it.

"Weavile, hurry! Use Dark Pulse!" Paul ordered while Breloom was caught of guard. Weavile put its paw a few inches apart, creating purple lines moving in a circular motion.

"Weavile!" Weavile yelled, launching its Dark Pulse at Breloom, hitting Breloom's back and knocking it completely out of the snow pile.

"Breloom!" Breloom screamed as it winced in pain.

"Nice hit, Weavile!" Paul said gratefully towards Weavile.

"That's it! We're not going to take anymore of that!" Kenny warned, pointing a menacing finger at Paul. "Breloom, use Mach Punch!"

"Dodge it, Weavile!" Paul demanded. Weavile took a step back to launch itself backwards, but before it could jump, a small pile of ice from its Icy Wind had formed behind Weavile, causing it to slip.

"It slipped! Do it, Breloom!" Kenny said, taking his opening for Weavile's momentary loss of self defense.

"Breloom!" Breloom shouted as it punched its Mach Punch in Weavile's stomach.

Weavile was flung a ways across the field, sliding on the ground a few feet when landing, scratching its back on a rock in the process. It stood up reluctantly, refusing to lose. Since it was facing Kenny's direction while gazing at Breloom, Kenny was unaware of the cut Weavile's back. Weavile, feeling a little dizzy from slight blood loss, fell forwards a little bit, putting on knee and paw on the ground to keep it from falling over completely.

"Kenny, we need to stop-" Paul began but was interrupted by Kenny.

"Breloom, finish it off with Energy Ball!" Kenny commanded, still oblivious to Weavile's injury.

"Oh no, Kenny!" Dawn exclaimed, tensing up. _Weavile, look out!_

"Kenny!" Paul repeated loudly, running towards Weavile, who was now laying on the ground, unable to keep itself up. Paul stepped in front of Weavile and put his arms out to protect Weavile. "I said we need to stop!"

After he said that, the Energy Ball hit Paul in the stomach, knocking him back a few feet.

"PAUL!" Dawn exclaimed, immediately standing up and dashing towards Paul.

"What's...what's going on?" Kenny questioned. He then looked at Weavile, and finally noticed the long scrape on its back, and that is was now bleeding heavily. _OH NO! I didn't know that Weavile was hurt! I thought Paul was saying to "stop" because he was going to forfeit!_

"Paul, are you okay?" Dawn asked, kneeling by Paul, who was laying on the ground, clenching his stomach. She grabbed Paul's head in her arms, and held him up slightly while Misty gently and warily picked up the near-faint Weavile.

"Paul, are you okay? I hadn't meant t-" Kenny started as he jogged towards Paul. _I didn't want to actually hurt somebody!"_

The response to his question was an extremely harsh glare from Dawn. "What was _that_ Kenny?" She interrogated, not giving Kenny room to explain.

"I didn't mean to hit Paul! I didn't know that he was trying to stop me because of Weavile's cut on its ba-" Kenny began again, but was once interrupted by Dawn.

"Well, it's too late, Kenny! You were too careless to realize that Weavile was even hurt! You were caught in a world of selfishness just to win a battle!" Dawn scolded loudly, not caring if citizens all the way in Kanto even heard her. "And because of that, Paul got hurt trying to protect his Pokemon!"

_Well that's a first, _Kenny thought to himself when he remembered that Paul wasn't always a kind and sincere person. He was once a callous trainer, not caring whether his Pokemon got hurt or not. If they lost, they were pathetic, weak creatures, that couldn't even earn their trainer's love...if he even _had _any. Kenny remained silent, letting Dawn yell at him. _Why doesn't she understand! It's all about Paul! I can't STAND him! _He had no words come to his overwhelmed mind as he was bombarded with overpowering emotions. Finally choosing anger in return, Kenny retorted back, forgetting for a split second how much he really liked Dawn.

"I said I didn't do it on purpose!" Kenny repeated once again in a last attempt to defend himself. "Breloom already had launched the attack before I could do anything about it! It's not MY fault he got in the way!"

"But it is YOUR fault for calling the attack when Paul tried to stop you from hurting Weavile more than you already had!" Dawn argued back, now standing up. Her face was merely inches away from Kenny's. "It's your fault he's hurt! All he was doing was trying to protect his Pokemon!"

_Uh oh, __Kenny's getting angry...this isn't good. She seems to have forgotten that he was the first friend she ever made! They've been best friends since then. Dawn is going to regret she said that! _Barry thought to himself as he folded his arm across his chest.

"Okay, guys, calm down. Kenny hadn't meant to hu-" Brock began as he attempted to break up the tense fight, but was loudly interrupted by a now furious Kenny.

"IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT PAUL!" Kenny nearly screamed, letting his actual feelings towards Paul flow freely. Slight tears began to form in the corner of his ebony eyes, one rolling down his cheek. _W__hy can't she see I love her?_"What about me, Dawn? What about me?" He finished, waiting for Dawn to answer.

Dawn drew back slightly, surprised that Kenny had felt envious towards Paul. "Kenny, I-"

"Save it, Dawn!" Kenny ordered as he stopped Dawn mid-sentence as more tears fell down his face. He wiped his tear-stained cheeks before continuing. "I need to take a walk." Kenny turned around and ran off towards the trail and climbing back down until he was out of sight.

"...Great," Brock muttered under his breath. "How come these things always happen, and I'm the one who has to go fix them?"

"Kenny..." Dawn's shaking voice trailed off. _I...I never realized he felt that way. _

"Dawn," Paul started, sitting up. His strength returned to his body as he stood up. "You should go after him. You've known him the longest out of all of us."

"Paul, are you sure? You're still hurt," Dawn replied, her thoughts a little distant. _What am I supposed to do?_

"It seems that it's my fault for Kenny getting so angry; I didn't want to make him angry," Paul responded. "I'll talk to him later."

Dawn turned back around to gaze at the area she saw Kenny run off. "I'm going to go find him. If we're not back before sunset, come find us."

"Okay," Ash agreed, looking at the sun's position to see how long that would be.

Dawn began walking towards the direction Kenny tread earlier before breaking into a run. _I'm so sorry, Kenny! Please forgive me!_

* * *

><p><em>AN: Oh no! Dawn and Kenny got in a fight! What is Dawn going to do? She has NO idea that Kenny is in love with her! (I love writing about characters oblivious to other characters' feelings...muahahaha. :D)_

_So...what did you think? Did you love it? Hate it? (HOPE NOT!) Have mixed feelings about it? What do you think is going to happen next? Tell me in your review! That's if people will ACTUALLY REVIEW! Please? It's just ONE simple thing that I'm asking you to do! It gives us FanFiction writers about what errors we have and how we could fix them in the future. ...I bet half of you don't even read my author's notes...now that I think about that probability...that depresses me. I know that Freyja reads them, but...do others? Aw~! NOW I'M SELF-CONCIOUS! I blab on and on and on in these things, but no one possibly reads them! T.T''' That is a bummer to my day! If you do read these, let me know? XD I want to know if people are actually getting my opinions/views on the chapters, and plus I give credit to other awesome authors if they give me ideas for my chapters! (I have another chapter coming up where an idea was given to me by another author. It was also a wonderful and inspiring idea! :D)_

_...REVIEW! :D I will love you forever! (I already do, anyways, but you get the idea. ;D) Because if you don't...I'll be watching you. Hahahaha...not really. Scared you didn't I? XD ...I'm actually not that intimidating...ask Freyja. XD Okay...haha...REVIEW!_

_~Dolphinz514_


	7. A Turn of Events

_A/N: HEY, LISTEN! It's been a long time, hasn't it? I'm sorry it's taken me FOREVAH to upload, but I have been SO busy lately, I haven't had time to do hardly anything. But I finally sat down and wrote this sucker! And it's awesome! ...I hope. :/ Lol. I've also realized that my story began to lean more towards a Penguinshipping story than an Ikarishipping story, and I was like "CRAP!" ...so I put an end to that in this chapter. :) Sorry to those of you who were like "Where the heck is the Ikarishipping?" It's coming, believe me. ;D_

_Enjoy~!_

_~Dolphizn514_

* * *

><p>Chapter 7:<p>

A Turn of Events

_Where are you, Kenny? _Dawn ran down the trail hoping to find Kenny sooner than later. She stumbled her way down the side of Mount Coronet, watching the path beneath her as she searched for Kenny's footprints possibly left in the dirt.

_It's all my fault, I just know it! How could it not be? I saw the way he looked in my eyes, and I saw what was in them: Pain and Love. How am I supposed to help him? _Dawn continued blazing down the trail as tears began to gather around her blue orbs. _I'm so sorry Kenny!_

Nearly out of breath, Dawn paused on a wide step on the trail, bending over to place her hands on her knees as she inhaled and exhaled steadily. While resting, a pebble cascaded down the mountain side and hit her sharply on her left shoulder.

"OUCH!" Dawn grabbed her shoulder as she stood up straight to glare up the mountain where the rock came from. Seeing a small shape moving slightly around thirty feet up, Dawn used her hand to cover her eyes from the sun's rays to see the shape easier. _It's Kenny!_

Dawn looked around her to see if there was any smaller trail that would lead her to where Kenny's location was. Not seeing any, she decided to climb up the mountain side herself. Grabbing onto the nearest rock with both of her hands, she jumped and hoisted herself onto the sloped, rocky terrain. _This is going to be harder than I originally thought. _Dawn remained in that spot, now afraid when thought of her falling to the rocks a few feet below crossed her mind. Gaining focus once more, she shook her head vigorously and set her eyes on Kenny's figure above her. _No, I can't give up! I must get to Kenny!_

Grabbing onto a rock higher than her head, then placing her foot to a rock higher than her knee, Dawn carefully but quickly made her way up to Kenny. Pausing a moment again for another break, she glanced ahead to see that Kenny's figure had stopped to sit on a large boulder twenty feet higher than her location. With even more motivation than before, Dawn gritted her teeth together and pushed herself up the rocks once more, feeling her limbs going weak. _Almost there! _

Kenny was sitting on a large rock twiddling his thumbs around each other, lost in thought. _...I should just give up. I try to get Dawn's attention, but I don't earn it no matter what I do. I don't even deserve it anymore. The way she looked at me after I hurt Paul...I feel so ashamed and pathetic. I will never win her heart. _

"Ow!"

Kenny's head shot up as his gaze traveled from his hands to the area in front of him. _What the...? What was that? _Kenny shifted his body to allow himself to glance behind. What he saw amazed him: Dawn clinging onto the rocks below him for dear life as she struggle to make her way towards him.

"Dawn? What are you doing?"

"Kenny! Please help me! My feet are slipping!"

Without a second thought, Kenny leaped up and bent over the small ledge towards Dawn. Stretching out his hand, Kenny used his other hand to brace himself against the ground. "That's as far as I can go, Dawn! Reach up your hand to grab mine!"

"I can't! I'll fall! Can't you reach down more?" Dawn squeezed her eyes shut as the thought of falling once again came to her.

"If I do, then I'll fall, too! You can trust me!"

Dawn opened her eyes to look at Kenny above her. His hand was only a few inches out of her reach, so she thought. She was simply too afraid to test if she could really take hold of his hand.

"I won't let you fall." Kenny promised, watching Dawn tremble in fear.

Faithfully, Dawn released her grip on the rocks with her right hand and stretched it as far as she could towards Kenny. Unfortunately, she realized that only their fingertips touched; she wasn't tall enough to grab his wrist. Decided to take another leap of faith, Dawn bent her legs slightly, and jumped off of her foothold, using both of her hands to clasp tightly to Kenny's arm. At that moment, Kenny fiercely yanked upwards, pulling Dawn with him. She collapsed on Kenny as he fell backwards, laying on the ground.

Breathing heavily, Kenny looked down and blushed heavily when he saw that Dawn was laying on top of his body with her head on his chest. Pushing his embarrassment away, he put Dawn's current state before his own feelings. "Dawn, are you okay?"

Still trying to gain her breath, Dawn sat up and rolled over slightly to sit on the ground. "Yeah," she gasped, holding her hand to her chest, trying to calm her accelerating heartbeat.

"That's good." Kenny stated before standing up. "Can you stand?"

Nodding, Dawn took Kenny's hand again and got up on her shaky legs. Kenny led her slowly to the rock he was sitting on previously and sat down beside her once he knew she was steady.

"What were you thinking? Hiking up the mountain? Are you crazy? What if you fell?" Kenny's fear of her falling overwhelmed his mind as his questions constantly poured out.

"To find you, Kenny."

"What...why? After what happened back there, I didn't thi-"

"Well _I _was the one who was dumb, Kenny. Not hearing your story well enough, I took Paul's side in that battle, and I really hurt your feelings. I don't blame you if you don't forgive me. I wouldn't forgive me either..." Tears started to appear again around her ocean eyes.

"Don't say that, Dawn," Kenny comforted as he placed his right hand on her left. "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself."

"Why?"

"Because I-" Kenny looked forward, trying to figure out the words he wanted to say. Not sure what was crossing his mind, Kenny finally blurted out his feelings for Dawn. "Because I was so frustrated! I wanted to prove myself to you, but you don't want me. You like Paul, and I got jealous! Jealous that I couldn't make you laugh like he does. That I couldn't see your smile, and know that it was meant for me!" Realizing what he just said, Kenny's eyes widened as he quickly slapped his hand across his mouth.

"You...like me Kenny?" Dawn, now confused, looked into Kenny's terrified eyes.

"I-I...uh.." Kenny stammered, not even sure how to respond anymore. _How can I __hide it now? I don't even know if she likes me at all! ...How can I know? ...Wait...that's it!_

Without any more hesitation, Kenny quickly leaned in to kiss Dawn on her soft lips. Dawn's eyes widened from this sudden action, and wasn't sure what to do next. _So..he does like me. Oh Kenny..._

Kenny removed his lips from Dawn's as he straightened his body out again. "Did you feel anything?"

"What?" Dawn was now extremely puzzled.

"Answer the question, Dawn. Did you feel anything from that kiss?"

"I-I'm not sure..."

"That's my answer then," Kenny muttered turning forward to look at the ground.

"Kenny, I-"

"Dawn, it's okay. If I'm not the one you're in love with...I...I can't change that, no matter how hard I try."

"Kenny..."

"Don't worry about me," Kenny ordered, his sternly pained yet delicately sorrowed gaze returning to the questioning gaze of Dawn. "I'm sorry for...well...you know."

Kenny stood up to leave and Dawn grabbed his right arm to prevent him from departing her. Her head hung limply while her other hand was to her face as tears streamed down her silken cheeks and onto her lap.

"I'm-I'm so sorry, Kenny! I...I never noticed you liked me so much! I've been so naïve! You were always there for me, but now I am never there for you! You are one of my best friends, yet I've been nothing but a jerk! You say you love me..." Dawn looked up to meet Kenny's wondering stare. "But I cannot return your love; I am in love with Paul, Kenny. I'm sorry, but that's how it is...Please remain as my friend...I don't know what I would do if I didn't have our friendship anymore!" Dawn sobbed harder than before and hung her head once more. Waterfalls of salty tears fell hopelessly to the ground as she pleaded for her best friend.

"Of course I'll remain your friend, Dawn." Kenny stood in front of Dawn placing a hand on her shoulder as she put all of her support on Kenny. Her face was in his chest as she cried, her fragile hands curled into fists with Kenny's shirt in between her fingers. "I'll always be here...I'd do _anything _for you." _I'm sorry you couldn't love me, Dawn, but as long as you're happy...I'm happy. I will still love you, and when your heart is broken, or you simply need a friend to talk to, I'll be waiting with open arms. ...I hope you will never forget this. _

"Thank you, Kenny," Dawn said as she stood, wiping her tear-stained face. She wrapped her still-trembling arms around Kenny as she attempted to calm her breathing.

Kenny hugged her in return, not wanting to ever let her go. "You're welcome." Kenny let go of Dawn and looked above him at the sky to see that the sun was nearly right above them. "It's a little past noon, I believe. We should head back."

"Okay," Dawn agreed. She followed Kenny back down the mountain side and they walked side-by-side on the path leading up to the campground. When they were in sight of the others, Brock waved at them signaling that lunch was almost ready.

"So hurry and wash up, you two!" Brock hollered across the clearing.

"Dawn! Kenny!" Barry yelled as he ran towards them. "Glad you guys made it back! You guys okay now?"

"Yup," Dawn answered, glancing back at Kenny and smiling. "Everything's going to be okay."

"Sweet! Well lunch is going to be sandwiches and fresh fruit, so I hope you guys came back hungry!"

"We did, believe us," Kenny said. "We did a little bit of climbing, so we've worked up an appetite."

"HEY GUYS!" Ash exclaimed from the outside of the clearing. He was along the mountain side pointing at a large hole in the ground. "COME CHECK THIS OUT!"

Everyone exchanged glances and ran over to the large gap in the ground. Paul walked up behind Dawn and touched her arm to get her attention.

"Is everything okay now?" Paul interrogated, still worried about how Kenny and Dawn's friendship is working out.

"Yeah, everything's fine." Dawn slightly turned slightly to meet Paul's concerned eyes.

"Glad to hear it," Paul finished, smiling at Dawn, who smiled back. They turned themselves back towards the giant indent in the ground.

"It looks like a tunnel," Drew said, folding his arms while thinking.

"It does, doesn't it?" May agreed. "We shouldn't get to close to it, in case the ground around it is loose or weak."

"Good idea," Misty stated, backing a ways away from the hole.

"I think it's okay," Dawn muttered, wandering closer to the edge of the hole. She got within a foot of the gap's opening, but didn't dare go any further.

"Be careful," Paul advised as she stepped towards Dawn until he was beside her.

"HEY PIKACHU!" Ash yelled. His hands were cupped around his mouth to enlarge the amount of sound he was making and his eyesight was set on the mountain side. He had noticed that Pikachu and Piplup were playing on the rocks, and the two were close to slipping.

"Ash, you shouldn't yell," Misty scolded as she placed her hands on her hips. "That's not always a good idea when on a mountain."

"PIPLUP!" Ash continued, ignoring Misty momentarily.

"Why is that, Misty?" May asked.

"I've heard about a number of landslides that have happened because of people yelling, causing their voices to echo throughout the mountain side, vibrating the mountain and the rocks raining down around them." Misty answered back, her gaze focused on Ash.

"Maybe she's right, Ash. I would stop yelling," Barry told Ash, backing away from the mountain side.

"Wait, I 've got to get Pikachu first." Ash turned back towards the mountain side. "GET DOWN HERE YOU GUYS! IT'S ALMOST LU-"

At that moment the mountain side began to shake vigorously. Everyone looked up above Pikachu and Piplup and saw rocks beginning to roll down the mountain.

"Piplup! Return!" Dawn exclaimed, pulling out her pokeball to make sure that Piplup was safe.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled, holding his arms out. Pikachu ran as fast as he could down the mountain before jumping in Ash's arms. "Okay let's go!"

Suddenly a scream appeared in the air, and it drew the attention of everyone as May hollered at Dawn and Paul, who were still near the hole.

"DAWN! PAUL! LOOK OUT!"

* * *

><p><em>AN: *Le gasp!* Oh no! What happened to Dawn and Paul? ...I don't know yet. XD Well I do...but I don't know what I'm going to do **AFTER **that...grr. _

_Poor Kenny! I felt so bad for him when I was writing this! :'( I wanted to give him a hug myself! Hopefully the chapter was exciting to read! :D Please review! :D GIMMEH YOUR THOUGHTS, PEOPLE! And do you know what else you should do? ...REVIEW. ;D Lol. Love you guys, and thanks for reading my story! ^3^_

_I'll update asap! :)_

_~Dolphinz514_

_*cough cough* REVIEW! *cough cough*_


	8. Free Falling into a Pit of Despair

_A/N: Hey...I know it's been a while since I've updated, but hey! At least I'm updating! XD  
>I've been SO busy with school: constant projects, test, finals, assignments, etc. ...I couldn't escape them no matter HOW hard I tried. Ugh. I'm sure many of you were thinking "Y U NO UPDATE FAST?" ...haha. Well...that's why. :3<em>

_Well, on a better note, the last day of school this year is in two days! 8D I'm SO anxious to stay home, and sleep in, and watch my animes, read my mangas...etc. XD I also plan on updating my FanFiction stories WAY more than I have been, especially now that I have time to actually update! :) _

_Also this summer, I'm planning on starting about one or two other stories...depending on how fast I get close to finishing the ones I already have... :3_

_ANYWAYS...sorry for the long-awaited chapter, but now it's here, so enjoy~!_

_~Dolphinz514_

* * *

><p>Chapter 8:<p>

Free Falling into a Pit of Despair

"DAWN! PAUL! LOOK OUT!" May hollered as she pointed at Dawn and Paul, who were still near the large hole along the side of the crumbling mountain.

"AH!" Dawn cried as her foot slipped as the edge of the hole fell under her, causing her to fall into the hole. She caught herself on the outside of the hole by keeping her upper body on the ground with her legs dangling towards the depths of the hole.

"Dawn!" Paul exclaimed as he immediately knelt down to grab Dawn's hand. "Don't let go!"

"I'm coming, too!" Drew and May yelled simultaneously as they both ran to Dawn and Paul. A trembling throughout the ground caused Drew and May to collapse on the ground before they could reach the pair in trouble.

"Guys! Above you!" Brock shouted as he pointed to the mountain side above the four on the ground. There were large boulders cascading down towards them with smaller rocks raining around them.

May quickly stood up to run towards Dawn and Paul, but a strong arm stopped her in her tracks.

"Don't you dare! You'll get hurt!" Drew said as he let go of May's arm and ran past her towards Dawn and Paul.

"Drew!" May shouted after him.

"I'm going to pull you up now!" Paul yelled as he lowered on of his hands to grab Dawn's backpack.

"Don't do it! You'll fall!" Dawn protested as she began to slip downwards.

"I'm not letting go. Even if we fall together." Paul looked at Dawn in the eyes to show her how serious he was about what he had just said to her.

The ground began to shake violently again, the boulders began to tumble closer towards Dawn and Paul. The shaking made Drew's knee give out, and he fell to the ground once more.

"Look out! Pull her up quick!" Drew shouted as he struggled to stand up again and gain his balance.

"I'm trying!" Paul yelled in response.

"Just drop me!" Dawn ordered, attempting to make Paul loosen his grip on her backpack and arm.

"Are you insane? That's _not _going to happen!" Paul retorted back. _I'll never let you fall. I promise._

As the third shake in the ground had begun to cease, Dawn's grip on Paul's sweatshirt slipped. Her hand desperately reached to hold onto Paul again, but the slight shaking made it difficult. She placed her foot along the inside of the hole to sturdy herself, but slipped again in a failed attempt, causing her and Paul to fall into the black bottomless pit.

While falling, Paul brought Dawn's head to his chest and held her body close to prevent her from getting any bruises; by shielding her body with his own. "Hold on tight," he murmured in her ear as they fell into the blackness.

"Paul! Dawn!" Ash yelled as he ran towards the hole, no longer caring for the safety of anyone in the group; he was only concerned about his two friends that had fallen helplessly into the large hole.

Drew grabbed Ash before he got too close to the hole. Even though the shaking had finally stopped, and the rocks stopped falling, it was still too dangerous to go anywhere near the hole. "Don't go, Ash! You'll only fall, too! That won't help any of us!"

"I don't care! I have to help them!"

"If you go, you may not be able to!" Drew finished as he tightened his grip on Ash.

Ash calmed down and stopped struggling against Drew as he thought about what Drew had just said. "You're right," he finally admitted. "Let's head back to the clearing and get the map."

"Good idea, Ash," Brock said as he turned around towards where their tents were set up. "The map shows the paths of the tunnels in the mountain."

"Well let's had back quickly, then," Barry stated. "We need to find them as fast as we can!"

"Ugh," Dawn mumbled as her sore body twisted on the ground. She brought her left hand up to her head as she slowly sat up. Her head was pounding and her limbs were shaky. Her clothes had been dirtied with dust, mud and dirt and her skirt and shirt had been ripped in some places. She noticed she had no broken bones, but her right shoulder hurt immensely. Dawn rotated her hurt shoulder and discovered it was the shoulder she had landed on when she hit the bottom of the tunnel. _So I was unconscious...I wonder when that happened? During our fall? The last thing I remember is Paul and I falling down. _

Dawn's eyes immediately grew wide. _Paul! _She stood up quickly, nearly falling, and began scanning the tunnel's floor in search of Paul. About ten feet away from her, she noticed a bloody body sprawled across the floor. "Paul!" Stumbling occasionally, Dawn half ran-half limped to Paul's lifeless body on the ground.

"Paul?" Dawn asked, sheer terror lingering in her voice. "Paul! You've got to wake up!" She desperately began to shake Paul's body, then stopped as she suddenly remembered that he could be injured and shaking him would not be the best idea. "Paul, please wake up! I'm scared! It's getting dark in here! I don't to be alone right now! Paul!"

Paul's body remained motionless as Dawn continued her pleas of distraught. As Dawn caught a closer view of Paul's facial features, she noticed that there was a gash on his head, just above his right eyebrow.

"He must have been knocked unconscious!" Dawn concluded, shouted as she believed she just found what was wrong with Paul. Her loud voice caused a slight echo in the tunnel, and a few rocks tumbled down towards her and Paul.

"That's probably not a good idea," Dawn muttered to herself. She stood up, grabbed Paul's right arm and slung it across the back of her neck to carry him to a safer place in the tunnel. She remembered that Paul had been wearing his backpack, and turned back around towards were they fell to see if she could locate it.

Once Dawn found Paul's backpack, she gently set Paul back on the ground and walked to his backpack. When she was almost there, her ankle twisted slightly, causing Dawn to stumble and fall onto her left side.

"I won't be able to carry Paul in this condition."

Dawn crawled the rest of the way to Paul's backpack, and opened it up immediately in search of Paul's pokeballs. Once she found Torterra's, she stood up slowly, and summoned Torterra into the tunnel.

"Torterra!" the forest Pokemon cried. It looked around to see unfamiliar surroundings, a beat-up Dawn and an unconscious Paul laying on the ground. It looked at Dawn in surprise and in fear as she began to explain.

"Torterra, I know it looks bad, and I know it's unusual to have me call you out instead of Paul, but I need help moving him, and you're his strongest Pokemon. Can you carry him to a safer location than here?" Dawn questioned Torterra.

Torterra nodded in response, and it walked over towards Paul.

"Thanks, Torterra! Thanks so much," Dawn replied as she grabbed Paul's backpack and threw it on her back. She then walked over to Paul and Torterra, and lifted Paul onto Torterra's back.

"Okay, let's go find a safe place to stay the night," Dawn suggested as her and Torterra with Paul on its back strolled down the hallway.

Torterra noticed that Dawn was limping pretty badly and knew that she shouldn't be walking on the hurt ankle. Torterra caught up to speed with Dawn, and nudged her hand to get her attention.

"What is it, Torterra?" Dawn inquired as she looked at the Pokemon trying to communicate with her.

Torterra simply looked at her ankle to show Dawn that it was worried about her injuring even further.

"Oh, my ankle? I'll be okay, Torterra," Dawn said softly as she petted Torterra's head.

Torterra snorted slightly and suggested to Dawn to climb on its back while they look for an area to stay the night.

"Thanks, Torterra, but I'll be okay," Dawn answered as she formed her hand into a fist in front of her face. "No need to worry!"

Torterra nodded in response and the trio headed down the tunnel's path once more. They eventually saw a hole in the side of the path that led to a small area surrounded by cave walls inside.

"That looks like a safe place to stay," Dawn concluded. She looked at her surroundings, and checked her Poketch before making her final decision. "Yup. It's gonna have to do...for now anyways."

Dawn led the way into the small cave-like clearing and Torterra attempted to follow, but wasn't able to fit through the hole. Dawn grabbed Paul and gently took him off of Torterra and set him down on the ground near a cave wall. She then pulled out Torterra's pokeball and returned it for the time being. Dawn's attention immediately returned to Paul as he remained unconscious.

Dawn slowly stroked his forehead to adjust the bangs that were covering his closed eyes. A small shiver crawled up her spine, causing her to shudder and to realize that it had begun to get cold. She looked at her clothes, and discovered she didn't have enough protection against the chilly weather. She laid next to Paul, close enough to have their shoulders touching, and turned her body so she was facing him.

_I hope he wakes up soon...He's really starting to worry me. And my ankle hurts so bad, and I don't know any first aid stuff either..._

Dawn closed her eyes temporarily, the tiredness of the day's catastrophic event finally creeping in her body. She opened her blue orbs once more to glance at Paul's unmoving tanned face as his own onyx orbs stayed shut. _...Is it my fault that he's like this? I wish he would wake up soon...I'm falling in love with him more and more each day...I just...I..._

"Good night, Paul."

* * *

><p><em>AN: So...what did ya think~? :3 I hope you all liked it! :)_

_So, what is going to happen next to Paul and Dawn? and how are the others going to find them? Will this event cause Paul and Dawn's relationship to soar? or to cease? _

_You'll find out the answers to all of these questions in the next chapters to come! :)_

_Thanks for reading, and REVIEW! 3_

_~Dolphinz514_


	9. Trapped Again?

_A/N: Hey, listen!  
><em>_So it's been a long, LONG, LOOOOONG time since I've updated...*really lazy* I actually started writing this chapter last week, got a writer's block, basically said "Screw it, I'll finish it later." And today was that later. x3 I hope you like this chapter...It's another filler chapter, but another "twist" in the story. This actually will affect Paul and Dawn's relationship. :D Muahahaha!  
><em>_Anyways...enjoy!_

_~Dolphinz514_

* * *

><p>Chapter 9:<p>

Trapped Again?

The light in the cave was dim as sunlight somehow found its way into the damp tunnels. Small clouds of dust gathered and dissipated in different spots on the dirt floor as small disturbances passed by. The air was slightly thick from the mist gathering from the remnants of a rain storm as dew drops were claimed by gravity's clutches and fell beneath their previous area.

Paul shifted slightly as he felt a few small drops of dew splash on his forehead. He opened his tired eyes slowly as he adjusted to the light in the cave. He sat up, and grabbed his left temple, attempting to stop the pounding headache he had. Looking around the cave to his left, he saw that it was somewhat dark and dusty. There was a large pile of rocks and boulders in the side of the cave. _That must've been where the hole was, _Paul thought. He also noticed a large pile of dirt laying in the shadow of the cave, and there was oddly a tree growing out of it.

_A tree? _

Paul stood up slowly, not wanting to further agitate his headache, and trudged over to the pile of dirt. His body ached all over, reminding him just how hard of a fall they had. His clothes donned blood stains all over, due to the cuts and scratches rocks had given him. _Did I really get banged up that badly? _Paul's attention returned to what he thought was a pile of dirt, when he realized it was something else.

_ That's not dirt! That's Torterra!_

"Torterra?" Paul said quietly, the random tree growing in the cave making more sense. The large Pokemon stirred and lifted it's head. It's eyes lit up when it realized that Paul was standing beside it.

"Tor!" Torterra shouted excitedly, as it stood up and rubbed its head by Paul's hand.

"I'm glad you're okay. Good thing you weren't out of your Pokeball when the hole collapsed," Paul continued quietly as he petted his Pokemon.

_Wait, how did you get out of your Pokeball?_

Paul thoughts raced around his mind as he recollected what happened the day before: Him and Dawn standing beside a hole before turning to run away from an avalanche of boulders crushed them. The hole caving in, and Dawn slipping down the hole. Paul reaching his arms out to lift her up, remembering making a promise to her about how he'll never let her go; Even if it's a promise she didn't hear.

_DAWN! Is she okay?!_

Frantically scanning the areas of the cave he didn't earlier, he saw Dawn lying on the cave floor, her body curled in a ball in a pathetic attempt to keep herself warm.

"Dawn!" Paul said, startled slightly to see Dawn so cold on the ground. He jogged over to her side and rolled her over onto her back, her blue orbs remaining shut. "Dawn..." Paul's voice trailed off, hardly even a whisper. "Please be okay."

He replayed the events of yesterday through his head one more time as he closed his eyes. Opening them once again, he leaned against the wall and pulled Dawn so she was leaning into his body. Paul looked at Dawn's pale face and worried that her skin tone was barely more pale than normal. "You'll be okay; I'll make sure of that," Paul promised silently, hoping that his words can be true. "Just please wake up," he pleaded as he stroked one side of Dawn's cheek.

As if on cue, Dawn opened her dark blue eyes and sat up slowly, yawning. Paul sat up, too, relief washing over him that his crush appeared to be okay. Dawn stretched her arms above her head and behind her back, before standing up to stretch her legs, not noticing that Paul was behind her against the wall.

"Torterra, we should hurry and find somewhere to get out of this cave," Dawn suggested as she threw her pale yellow backpack over her shoulders.

"That sounds like a plan," Paul agreed, standing up and stretching his own legs.

Upon hearing his voice, Dawn turned around and saw Paul wiping the dust off of his gray jeans. "You're..." Dawn began, but her voice remained quiet, unsure how to comprehend the fact that Paul was okay.

"We need to move as fast as we can if we don't want to worry about food rations and such," Paul continued as he dusted off his bloody clothes.

"You're okay!" Dawn exclaimed as she hugged Paul. "I was worried!"

Paul blinked a few times at what he heard Dawn say. "You were?"

Also realizing what just spilled out of her mouth, Dawn quickly let go of Paul. "Of course! Ha...ha...you know, cause you're my friend and all!" she quickly added with the a few nervous laughs inserted.

"Oh...okay," Dawn said, ending their conversation in a slightly awkward silence.

"Ummmm..." Paul started again, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Let's keep going then?"

Dawn nodded as she began walking down the tunnel. _That was a little...awkward, _Dawn thought as her eyes remained on her feet while she walked._I wonder if Paul found it awkward, too... _She glanced behind her, wondering if Paul was also deep in thought, but he was looking at her instead. Paul blushed and looked away quickly, hoping that Dawn didn't notice him looking at her. Dawn also blushed and turned her gaze back to her feet. _He was looking at me! And he blushed when I caught him! I'm so excited, I could squee!_

"SQUEE!" Dawn exclaimed loudly, her voice echoing off the walls of the tunnel and her arms thrown up in the air. Realizing what she had done, her face turned red from embarrassment, and put her arms to her chest. _Meep! Did I seriously just do that?!  
><em>

"Dawn, everything okay?" Paul interrogated, puzzled from her random outburst.

"Ye-yeah! Everything's just peachy!" Dawn said, looking back and forming her fingers into a "o" shape for emphasis.

"Okay..."

_'Everything's just peachy!'?! What the heck! I NEVER say stuff like that!_ Dawn ranted in her thoughts, beating herself up for being obvious. _If I'm not careful, he's going to find out I like him! That's twice already today!_

_ 'Everything's just peachy!'? _Paul repeated to himself. _I've never heard her say anything like that...Is she really okay? _Paul placed his onyx gaze on Dawn again. _I'm sure she's okay...maybe she's trying to come up with new sayings instead of her frequent 'No need to worry!' ...She's so cute._

Paul froze in his tracks as he heard a low grumbling. "Did you hear that?"

Dawn stopped too, as well as Torterra. "Hear what?" she asked, checking the cave walls for anything.

"That low grumbling sound..." Paul answered, his voice trailing off in focus as he attempted to figure out what it was.

"It's probably your stomach," Dawn concluded. "We haven't eaten in a while, you know."

"But I'm not hungry. Is it your stomach."

"I haven't felt my stomach grumbling, no."

"It must just be my imagination, then. Let's keep going."

Paul quicked his pace to be side by side with Dawn. _I swear I heard something...where did it come from?_

A low rumble sounded from the cave behind them, drawing everyone's attention.

"Please tell me you heard it that time," Dawn pleaded in a whisper, being a little frightened for what the odd noise could be.

"Yeah...I heard it," Dawn replied with a shaking voice. She began to come up with causes for the noise in a pathetic attempt to not let herself get even more scared. "I bet some rocks are falling down where he fell in the cave, or maybe there's a sound of water outside above the cave...or..."

While Dawn was spurting out explanations, Paul backtracked their path a little bit to see what the mysterious sound was. He saw a shape moving in the shadows towards them, and it was moving fast.

"ROAAAAAAR!" The sound echoed throughout the cave and shook the walls.

"What th-?!" Paul started to say until the source of the sound appeared out of the shadows.

"It's an Aggron!" Paul shouted as he ran back to Dawn.

"So that means..." Dawn began to speak but was interrupted by Paul.

"It means we run!" Paul answered quickly, grabbing Dawn's hand and continuing running.

"Why can't we use our Pokemon to defeat it?!" Dawn yelled as they were running.

"Think about it: If our Pokemon fight against that Aggron in this cave, the cave and walls could fall apart!"

"I didn't think about that!" Dawn admitted, running as fast as she could.

"ROAAAAAR!" Aggron screeched as it fired its Hyper Beam attack towards Dawn, Paul and Torterra, just barely missing them by a foot or two, since it was merely a warning shot.

"We need to find somewhere to hide!" Dawn exclaimed, out of breath.

"Agreed!" Paul responded. He felt Dawn's hand slip from his as she stumbled and fell to the ground. "Dawn!" Paul helped her up again and they continued running, Torterra now ahead of them.

Torterra suddenly stopped, its gaze on the cave wall. "Tor!"

"What is it, Torterra?" Paul asked, slowing down to stop beside Torterra, holding Dawn's hand again. He looked where his large forest Pokemon's gaze was fixed on. There was a hole in the cave wall, leading into another small room in the cave. It was just big enough for a human to fit through. "It'll do for now! Thanks, Torterra!"

"We're going in there?" Dawn said, slightly concerned to crawl through walls in a cave.

"Yup," Paul finished. "Torterra, return."

"What if the wall falls down while we're going through?!"

"It won't, so don't panic! Just go in!"

"ROAAAAR!"

"Hurry, Dawn!" Paul exclaimed as Dawn began to climb into the hole.

"I'm trying!" Dawn argued back, using her hands to hoist her body weight up into the hole. Paul grabbed the bottom of her foot to assist her.

"I'm up! I'm climbing through, now!" Dawn announced as she hurridly made her way into the hole.

"ROAAAAAAAR!" The Aggron had noticed Dawn and Paul attempting to escape into the hole. He started it's Hyper Beam attack, preparing to hit its target this time.

"Not good!" Paul stated obviously, and lifted himself up to the hole in the wall. He crawled through it, and found that Dawn had made it safely to the other side. He made it all the way through when the Aggron reached the opening of the hole its prey escaped into.

"Ahh!" Dawn cried, covering her face in terror.

Paul took hold of Dawn, attempting to comfort her, even though he was slightly scared himself. "Don't worry! We'll be okay!"

With its Hyber Beam was fully charged, Aggron launched it's attack at the hole Dawn and Paul disappeared into. The cave walls shook, and the wall crumbled down, closing the hole. The Aggron attempted to claw its way to the trainers, but it gave up eventually and walked away.

"That was close," Dawn whispered, hoping to not bring the attention of the angry Aggron again.

"Yes, it was close," Paul repeated as he observed the walls of the new room they were in. "It looks like we're trapped."

"Seriously?!" Dawn asked, beginning to worry. "I don't want to starve in here!"

"We're not going to starve, Dawn," Paul said assuringly, grabbing Dawn's shoulders. "but what we don't want to do is panic, so calm down, okay?"

"Okay," Dawn responded, controlling her breathing to slow it down.

Paul looked around the walls again; there wasn't even a small hole or indent in the ceiling.

_How are we going to get out of here?_

* * *

><p><em>AN: So, some people last time were like "NO! It's a short chapter! Meanie!" ...Okay, they didn't really say that, but they were sad that chapter 8 was a short chapter. So I tried to make this one as long without it being an awkward chapter. This was just barely seven pages on my writing document, and usually my chapters are 5-6 so...you're welcome. XD  
>So, how will Dawn and Paul make it out of that little room in the cave? And will the Aggron come back? Will their food rations last? What happens if they run out of water?<br>Keep reading to find out! (Once I update again, that is. *is a meanie* :))  
>Thanks for reading!<br>Review...? PLEASE?! I will love you forever! Like, more than I already do! :D That's sounds like a good deal, right?  
>I bet 20% of you will review this time..*sigh*...oh well, what more can the author do?<em>

~Dolphinz514


	10. Impatience

_A/N: Hey! :) It's been a long time...I feel like I have readers standing outside by door with pitchforks and torches...*shivers* Sorry it's taken me a freaking long time to update...I feel really bad. :(_

_But! On a good note, I can proudly say that I've spent the past week writing this, editing it thoroughly to ensure this chapter (and long wait for it) would be worth it! :)_

_I also want to excessively apologize to Weirdo Palkia Princess for not giving her credit previously! D: I don't know how I managed to forget to mention this in my past author's notes...Anyways, she was the one who helped me in another writer's block I had. I asked her for some help, because I wasn't quite sure how I wanted the conflict in the story to occur, and making it in a way were Paul and Dawn would be alone for a while, and she suggested the idea of them falling into a cave and getting trapped. So, Weirdo Palkia Princess, I'm SO SORRY! ;; Forgive meh? :3_

_Okay, I am done. :p Sorry again for the long wait, and enjoy the chapter!_

~Dolphinz514

* * *

><p>Chapter 10:<p>

Impatience

Dawn sat in a corner, her knees tucked to her chest as she impatiently twirled a stick around in the dirt. Her thoughts were wandering haphazardly as she thought of some way to get out of the predicament her and Paul were in. She raised her head to turn her attention to Paul. He had been incessantly digging at the cave wall in various spots, trying to find a weak area to break a hole into the wall. For hours he had done this, and had just nearly given up. Taking a break, he leaned back on his heels and wiped his slightly sweaty forehead with the back of his hand, breathing deeply.

"This isn't working." Paul's tone was blunt as he sighed heavily. "I don't know what else to try."

"Do any of your Pokémon know dig?" Dawn suggested, shifting her position so her knees were lying on top of each other on the ground as she moved a hand on the ground to support her weight.

"No, they don't," Paul answered quietly, standing up to walk to his backpack. He grabbed a bottle of water, drank one-fourths of the contents before he tossed the bottle to Dawn, who happily took a drink. "And I'm assuming none of yours do, either."

"No…" Dawn's voice trailed off as she avoided eye contact, now a little embarrassed.

"I don't know how we're going to get out of here, to be honest. None of our friends know where we are, other than we fell down that large hole. They don't even know if we're still alive." Paul leaned back against the cave wall, his arms behind his head.

Dawn looked up with slight hope in her eyes. "But that doesn't mean they won't stop looking for us! They must have some feeling that we're still okay."

Paul turned his head to look at Dawn. "You do have a good point. They'll keep looking for us, whether or not our status will be good or bad once they find us," he added with a sincere smile, causing Dawn to slightly blush and look away. _I admire her optimism…I hope I can bring as much for her…_

There was a moment of silence, both trainers with words to say unknown. Occasionally, they stole glances from each other, but that was it.

"It's got to be around lunch time," Paul finally spoke, anxious to break the silence. "How about we have lunch?"

"Yeah! Sounds good, I'm starving!" Dawn agreed, letting Piplup hop of her lap before starting to stand up. Paul stood up quicker though, and made his way over to Dawn, an outstretched hand offering help to stand up. Blushing, Dawn graciously took his hand and allowed him to pull her off the ground. "Thanks."

"Of course," Paul answered back, blushing as well. He turned back towards his backpack. "Now let's see what we've got here…" He rummaged through the food items in the front pocket of his backpack. "I have some ramen." He looked at Dawn. "Do you think Quilava won't mind giving us a fire?"

"No, I'm sure it'd be fine with that," Dawn giggled as she went to her own backpack to find Quilava's pokeball.

Paul grabbed a package of ramen, and a cooking pan he brought with him. Dawn summoned out Quilava, and made a small circle in the dirt. She grabbed a few sticks she managed to have in their backpack for later fires the entire group would've had further on their trip. Placing the sticks in the circle, Paul set the pot with some water from his bottle and the ramen inside.

"Quilava, if you will," Dawn said, motioning towards the miniature campfire. Quilava nodded, and blew a small flame onto the sticks, creating a small fire. "Thanks, Quilava. Return." Dawn called Quilava back to its pokeball and placed it back in her bag.

"Thanks, that really helps. I forgot my lighter, and since I don't have any fire-type Pokemon on me…well…" Paul started, ending his sentence slowly.

"It's alright, Paul. Quilava doesn't mind."

As the ramen slowly cooked due to the small fire, Paul and Dawn chatted idly, talking about whatever came across their minds. When the ramen was done, they continued their conversation, getting lost in time and not realizing it was getting dark. It was the faint howl of an Umbreon that traveled through the walls that hinted to them it was already around midnight. Dawn reached behind her into her backpack and pulled out her Pokewatch.

"It's almost midnight," Dawn stated, a yawn not far behind.

"We probably should get to bed. It wouldn't do us any good if we weren't fully-rested in the morning," Paul commented, taking off his shoes.

"Sounds good to me," Dawn yawned a second time, stretching her arms behind her head. Suddenly she realized how cold it was and quickly brought her arms back down, covering her upper arms. _May has my jacket…I forgot to get it back from her…_

Paul glanced over at Dawn and took notice of how cold she was. He stood up, stripping off his jacket in the process. Curious, Dawn looked up to see was Paul was doing. She blushed immensely as she watched Paul take the remainder of his hoodie off. His tan, somewhat-chiseled arms were lit up from the remaining flames of the fire. He grabbed the edges of the jacket and draped them around Dawn's shoulders.

"That should keep you warmer," Paul said, smiling genuinely.

Dawn nodded quickly, glad the fire didn't show off her blushed face. "Th-thank you."

"You're welcome." Paul walked back over to his backpack and rested his head on it. "Let's think of other possible ways to get out of here in the morning. We shouldn't let our friends do all of the work," he added, giving a playful wink at Dawn.

"Yeah…" Dawn agreed quietly, her gaze lost in the fire's last flames. _What if we never get out of here…what if we die in here? I don't want to die! Maybe I'm thinking a bit too extreme…no, I'm not; this is perfectly normal. I wish all of our other friends were here…not that I don't mind spending alone time with Paul, but more friends means more comfort and safety…I'm scared…I don't know what to do…_Dawn's thoughts derailed quickly, causing her to become a little bit overwhelmed. A tear ran down her cheek as she fought against her shoulders from shaking.

"Hey," Paul said, quickly moving to Dawn's side. "What's wrong?"

Dawn looked at Paul, meeting his gaze, the tears in her eyes glistening. "I'm scared, Paul. I don't know how we're going to get out of here, or even _if _we're going to get out of here! I don't know what to do, and I feel so helpless, and-"

"Alright, stop right there," Paul shushed as he wrapped his right arm around Dawn. He pulled her close to his warm body. "We're going to be okay. We'll do whatever it takes to get out." He carefully leaned them back on the cave wall, Dawn resting on his chest. "We just gotta stay positive and think of new ideas."

"I guess you're right…sorry, I just got a bit overwhelmed." Dawn apologized, wiping a tear from her eye.

"It's okay, don't worry about it," Paul replied, absentmindedly stroking Dawn's hair.

Dawn felt Paul's hand stroke her hair, but left it alone. It was comforting to her, and she thought it was extremely cute of Paul to do so.

"Okay, I won't," Dawn promised as one more yawn escaped your lips.

"Perhaps we can sit by the entrance that got blocked," Paul suggested optimistically.

"Mmhmm," Dawn agreed, her eyes now closed.

"Maybe a few more trainers will walk by."

"Mmm…"

"We can call out to them and see if they'll help us," Paul finished, watching the embers from the fire burn out slowly. When he didn't hear Dawn respond, he knew she was asleep.

Dawn's breathing quickly regulated as she unconsciously tightened her grip on Paul's shirt.

"I wish I could tell you," Paul whispered, not wanting to wake up Dawn. "How I feel about you…how much I care for you."

Piplup yawned from across the cave, as well as Torterra, giving Paul slight panic from the sudden sounds. He looked back at Dawn, still leisurely stroking her silken hair.

"I guess I'm too afraid to," he continued, his voice still remaining a whisper. "I don't know how you'll respond…"

Dawn inhaled then exhaled deeply, almost as if she was having an intense dream. _Hopefully she's not having any nightmares._

"We'll figure something out, Dawn. No need to worry," his deep chuckle just barely sounded in the room as he spoke Dawn's infamous catch phrase. "As long as I get to be here to comfort you," he finished, leaning down to plant a kiss on top of Dawn's head. He scooted further down the wall, slouching more, trying to get more comfortable for sleeping. He double checked the fire to make sure it's all the way out before closing his eyes, and falling asleep very fast.

Dawn paced impatiently back and fourth as Paul sat by the blocked entrance, ears alert for any possible passersby. "I don't think anyone is walking by today, Dawn," Paul announced, his voice sounding defeated.

"It's alright, there's always tomorrow. We'll be fine!"

Paul glanced over his should back at Dawn. _It's nice to see her old self again. _

"So, what should we do to pass the time?"

"Um…I don't know…maybe play a few games?" Paul answered, shrugging his shoulders. "I brought some cards with me, so we could play Slap Jack, Double Solitaire, BS, or we could play guessing games, such as 'What Pokemon am I Thinking Of?' or 20 Questions."

"Ooh! 20 Questions sounds fun! Let's do that one." Dawn eagerly ran towards Paul and sat down in front of him.

"Who's going to start first?" Paul wondered.

"I can," Dawn responded, her eyes suddenly glued to the ceiling as she searched for a question. "Oh, I have one: What did you want to be when you were little?"

"Honestly, I wanted to be a breeder, like Reggie."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Well, before I had that time when I was extremely rude and upset with everything, I really admired my brother, and that's probably the reason why after I watched him lose the match that changed his career path, I wanted to be a Pokemon master instead. To try to do what my brother couldn't," Paul explained as his stare occasionally trailed from Dawn's eyes.

"That's interesting…"

"Alright, now I've got to think of one for you…" Paul got silent as he thought really hard for the next question. "Okay: If you had a choice between a Relicanth or a Muk for a contest performance, which would you pick, and why?"

"Probably Relicanth, because they're more agile than a Muk," Dawn replied with a slight giggle. "My turn…um..Oh! If you didn't choose Turtwig for your starter Pokemon, which one would you have chosen?"

"I think Piplup."

"How come?" Dawn inquired, leaning forward to prop her chin on her hand.

"I'm not quite sure, they just seem like a really good choice for a starter."

"I see; makes sense."

"Hmmm…I guess it's my question next then…" Paul pondered, his hand grasping his chin as he gazed at the ground. "Okay, if you could be any Pokemon, which one would you be, and why?"

"Glaceon!" Dawn eagerly answered, her right hand fisted in front of her face. "Because they are elegant, and would be an awesome Pokemon to enter into a contest!"

"Are contests all you think about?" Paul teased, leaning forward onto his elbows resting on his crossed legs.

"Are battles all you think about?" Dawn fired back, winking.

"Touché," Paul surrendered, putting his hands in the air. "You're up."

"If _you _were a Pokemon, what would you want to be? And tell me why."

"I am going to say…Umbreon," Paul answered, looking at Dawn. "Because they're extremely intelligent, and Dark Pokemon are just pretty awesome."

"'Pretty awesome'?" Dawn repeated, teasing his elaborate explanation.

"Hey, don't mock me," Paul laughed, nudging Dawn's arm with his elbow. "You used the word 'awesome' in your reason, too!"

"Alright, alright," Dawn agreed, her hands up in surrender.

A snore rumbled through the cave as Torterra breathed deeply, as if it was having an intense dream, causing both trainers to jump.

"That freaked me out," Paul admitted, looking over Torterra to make sure it was okay. He then glanced at Dawn to make sure she was okay, too. He noticed that she had coiled herself up, her knees against her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs and her chin resting on her knees. "Hey, what's up?"

"Torterra's snore reminded me of that Ursaring out there…what if it's still waiting?"

"I doubt it," Paul said hurriedly, trying to comfort Dawn. "It probably got bored by this morning and went to go bother something else."

"How can you be so sure?" Dawn interrogated, meeting Paul's eyes. "I can tell you're worried too, Paul. We only have a certain amount of food, we aren't that prepared for various temperatures, and we don't know if our friends are even _close _to finding us."

Paul was silent; he couldn't find an answer, let alone words, to reply to Dawn's reminder. He finally answered with a staggering, "I don't know."

Dawn sighed and faced forward, her eyes burning holes into the ground. "I don't know, either."

"We'll figure something out, Dawn. I promise," Paul responded as he scooted over so he was sitting next to Dawn. He wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her into a sideways hug.

"Paul," Dawn started, not removing her gaze from the dirt. She tore her eyes away and turned her head to meet Paul's onyx orbs. "I need to ask you something."

* * *

><p><em>AN: So, what do you guys think? This was another filler chapter...I know. :/ But was it worth the wait? :) (I hope so.) I wasn't quite sure where I was going with this chapter, but I believed I figured it out, so now I'm ready to write Chapter 11! :D I can't guarantee I'll get to writing that immediately, but I can promise it'll be withi the next few weeks. :)_

_Thanks for reading guys! ^^ Watch for Chapter 11!_

~Dolphinz514


	11. A Search Begun

_A/N: Hey guys!_

_Alright, FINALLY, chapter 11 is uploaded! It's another filler chapter, with a bit more suspenseful activity, impatience of trainers, and more searching for a way out of the cave!  
><em>

_I'm sorry that it's been taking me forever to update, but hey! At least I'm updating! ;)_

_That's all I really have to say about this chapter, but I hope you guys enjoy it!_

_~Dolphinz514_

* * *

><p>Chapter 11:<br>A Search Begun

Most of the Pokémon were still asleep, all laying in a group in one of the corners of the cave. Paul and Dawn, still sitting in front of each other, were now slightly in an awkward staring match as Paul waited for Dawn to finish her question.

"What is it?" he asked, looking over her face expectantly.

"I…well, hah..uhm.." Dawn's words were fumbling around as she stared at the wall. "I actually need to tell you something more than _ask_ something, but…for a while, I guess I should say since I really met you during my journey through Sinnoh I have…I have really liked you…."

Paul blinked as Dawn spoke, trying to figure out if he was hearing the right words or not. He was about to speak, but then she continued to speak:

"I mean, I _really_ like you, still. I knew at first it wasn't a good idea because of the way you treated your Pokémon, and how you were towards Ash, but I could help but have some sort of affection for you…" She trailed off slowly, her blue eyes traveling down to the dirt, her finger swirling around in it, leaving patterns.

Staring at the girl in front of him, Paul almost couldn't find the words to say. This completely caught him off guard, but he more than loved what he was hearing. "Dawn…" he whispered, his voice shaking a bit. _This couldn't really be happening…_ "I…I know what you mean."

Dawn looked back up at Paul, disbelief and hope colliding in her eyes. "What?"

"I've…I've liked you, too. A lot…I think that's probably one of the reasons why I picked on Ash so much…I got to be around you." He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing over at their Pokémon as one of them stirred in their sleep. "And that one afternoon where you saw me talking to Reggie at that Pokémon center, I almost told you how I felt then, but I thought it would be very ill-timed."

Shrugging, Dawn stared at Paul, then slowly nodded her head. "It probably would have been…I see what you're saying." All of a sudden Piplup was standing by her side, crawling to sit on her lap. "Hey there," she greeted, patting its head. "Paul...I still have those feelings for you."

She kept her eyes down as Paul looked her over. For a moment he hesitated before leaning over and kissing her cheek. "Me too," was all he muttered before standing up to get the Pokémon food out of his backpack. "Is Piplup hungry?" he asked, looking at Dawn and her aquatic friend.

"Piplup!" the Pokémon shouted, leaping out of Dawn's lap and racing over to Paul. Its cry woke the other creature up, Torterra's eyes slowly making their way to the purple-haired trainer holding a bag of food. Excitedly getting up, it walked over to Paul as well, nudging his shoulder. "Tor!"

"I guess that's a 'yes'," Dawn giggled, standing up and brushing the dirt off her legs. Blushing feverishly from Paul's kiss, she smiled as he grabbed a few bowls from her own bag, and placing them on the ground for Piplup and Torterra. Paul placed the food in the bowl, laughing as the creatures dug right into their meal.

"They were pretty hungry, huh?" Paul chuckled, looking up at Dawn with a bright smile. He grabbed his other Pokéballs. "Come on out guys!" he exclaimed, summoning out the rest of his Pokémon. Dawn followed suit, and helped feed the rest of their gang. After breakfast, they fed themselves as well, making another bowl of ramen, and putting all of their friends, except Piplup, back in their Pokéballs.

Dawn stood up, grunting as she stretched her arms and legs. "Man, I'm tired of sitting around here…" She looked back up towards the original hole in the cave that had gotten covered up. She walked over to the pile of rocks and boulders, and attempted to hike up a few of them.

Paul started chuckling. "What are you doing?" he asked, walking towards her, Piplup and Torterra watching them slowly. He stood at the base of the pile, smiling with curiosity up at Dawn.

"I'm seeing if any rocks are loose at the top," she replied, her face furrowing in frustration as she tried to move a rock. "I wanna get out of here; we can't just sit around."

"Hold on, that Aggron could still be out there," the purple-haired trainer warned.

"At this point…I almost don't care," Dawn half-lied, smiling with reassurance. She was able to shake a rock free, and watched it tumble down the side of the pile. "See? It can be that hard," she suggested, climbing up more. Once she got towards the top, where it met the mouth of the opening out of the cave, and shuffled a few more out of the way. "I think we can be able to get out of here."

Paul smiled widely. "Really? That's great!" he said excitedly, climbing up a few rocks himself. "Let me help you," he said as he made his way to the top, pulling a few rocks aside as well. Eventually, there was an opening large enough to fit both Dawn and Paul through.

"Perfect!" Dawn said, crawling back down and jogging over to her backpack. She slung it over her shoulders, and grabbed Paul's bag in one hand, and Piplup in her other arm. Torterra was summoned back to Paul's Pokéball, and the other trainer took his backpack. The blue-haired trainer climbed through the opening first, following Paul; no sign of the Aggron anywhere. Dawn sighed in relief, laughing lightly and looking at Paul. "I'm so glad it's not near us."

"Me, too. Come on, let's go." Paul stood up, helping Dawn up as well, and they both headed down the large hallway-like structure of the inside of the cave. "I wish I had a map for down here," he mumbled, looking all around.

Dawn nodded, holding Piplup tight in her arms. "Same. We'll find our way out, though," she assured, reaching down to hold Paul's hand, smiling. "No need to worry." She winked before chuckling.

May was walking back and forth, her paces creating a small indent into the ground as she chewed on her lip.

"May, calm down. We'll find them," Misty said, almost with annoyance in her tone.

"I know! But I'm just getting impatient," May replied, pouting and sitting on the ground. "I have no idea where to even start! That hole is way too deep for us to climb down."

The rest of the gang nodded slowly, also unsure of what to do. They had stayed the previous night in the same location, figuring that remaining where they already were would be the best decision. Perhaps Paul and Dawn would have figured a way back out; and climbed up and back to the gang. But, it was also possible that they were in danger. Ash shook his head, standing up.

"I can't just sit here anymore," the brunette huffed, picking up his hat and placing it on his head. Pikachu's ears perked towards the trainer, confusion on its face as Misty stood up as well.

"Ash, just relax-"

"I can't, Misty! Not when I know that our friends could be out there! Possibly hurt…" he said, gazing at the hole, deep in thought.

"They're fine," Brock reassured, walking past an obviously upset Kenny. He rested his hand on Ash's shoulder, glancing at Kenny as he spoke. "I'm sure of it. Dawn and Paul have been in similar situations; they know how to handle it."

Kenny nodded slowly, looking off into the distance as he fought his feelings. He knew Dawn had no such feelings in return for him…but he couldn't help but just worry like crazy. Dawn was out there… _Paul better be keeping her safe…_ He furrowed his brow, pursing his lips as he sat down on a rock. "What should we do, then?"

Brock shrugged, glancing around. "Uhm…well, we should split up. Some of us stay here, while others use my map to figure out where other openings to the cave are. Maybe Dawn and Paul found a way out."

"I'll volunteer to go locate the other openings," Drew spoke up, raising his hand slightly. May joined him, holding onto his arm and nodding in agreement.

"Me, too," Kenny said, glancing at the two, pleading with his eyes. "I can't sit here and wait…"

Brock nodded, too, smiling. "Right. Sounds like a plan." He reached into his backpack and pulled out his map, handing it to Drew. "You guys gonna head out now?"

May smiled, looking at her green-haired crush. "Of course. Might as well, right? No point in waiting anymore."

Drew smiled in return. "Yeah," he said, grabbing the map. "We'll go now. Kenny, May, get your bags ready." He grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulders, waiting as the other two trainers did the same. Drew looked back at Misty, Ash and Brock. "We'll be back by nightfall. Thanks for the map." He signaled a goodbye, then headed down a trail, May and Kenny close behind him.

Ash waved bye, before sitting back down. "I hope they're alright…"

Misty smiled, sitting down next to him, resting her hand on the brunette's thigh. "They are. No doubt about it. Come on, let's get the gang something to eat," she suggested, attempting to draw attention from the current tragedy.

Brock reached in his backpack again, pulling out dried Pokémon food, and a few bowls as well. He looked up at the sky for a moment; the sun was probably about five or so hours from hitting sunset. He sighed, pouring the food into the bowls as Ash and Misty summoned out their friends. He hoped they were okay, too.

Paul groaned, glaring angrily at a strange crevice in the wall of the cave. He ran a finger through his hair. "I swear we have walked past this." He glanced over at Dawn. "I think we're walking in circles."

Dawn sighed. "I'm tired.." she said softly, looking back at Paul, Piplup already asleep in her arms. "Can we call it a night?"

Paul looked back around the cave. "Yeah. Let's find a place to stop."

After walking a ways, Dawn spoke up again. "Do you feel that?" she asked, looking around. "It's a breeze."

Paul suddenly looked excited. "That means there's got to be an exit somewhere!" He ran ahead a bit. "But…which way?" He had come to face a fork in the cave, pathways either leading left or right.

Dawn yawned, shrugging. "Not sure…" She leaned against the wall, closing her eyes for a moment. "Can we look for it in the morning? I think I remember a smaller cave somewhere behind us…" She yawned again.

Paul nodded, walking back and resting his arm on Dawn's back. "Yeah. Let's go." They walked back, and found the mentioned cave. The trainers set up their sleeping bags, and crawled into them, Piplup nuzzling Dawn's arm. "Night Dawn."

Dawn mumbled something, mostly asleep. Soon, her breath regulated, and her lips were parted softly in a gentle and consistent breath. Paul rolled onto his back, looking up at the ceiling of the cave. Were their friends even looking for them? Of course they were…but…how would they be found? Hoping that the others were safe as well, he closed his eyes, and rested his head on his arms, falling into a quick sleep.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Alrighty! Chapter 11 is up! :D What did you guys think? Don't hesitate at all to review! :)_

_I will update as soon as possible, but I am working on updating a few other of my stories, first! :) _

_Thanks for reading!_

_~Dolphinz514_


End file.
